The Sanctuary
by giggleplex
Summary: Ryou Bakura's life had changed drastically, the moment his fingertips brushed a pretty gold trinket. Now depressed, angered and pained, what happens when his favorite card decides to 'help'? (shonen-ai) Please R+R?
1. VERSE ONE:: Cold Beginnings

He stumbled blindly, into old cracked concrete. A vibrant taste of pure scarlet made itself clear on his quickly swelling lip; he barely noticed.  
  
  
  
His head was pure chaos at that moment, in living in the painful realization of being entirely alone.  
  
  
  
The boy had seen so much, done so little, and all the while losing pieces of his mind, sure bit by agonizing bit.  
  
  
  
A stray silver lock twisted tauntingly around his face.  
  
  
  
His face was raw with cold tears. ~Cold~. A hundred times worse than cold sweat, because he was so far beyond nervous. He was terrified.  
  
  
  
Squinching up his face, he took a long breath that made his head spin, but at least succeeded in calming the sobs of hysteria that haunted him for what seemed like forever.  
  
  
  
The dry throat in his neck instinctively contracted in a swallow, but only forced more icy chill through it. Everything stung, but of course, Ryou Bakura had become quite used to it.  
  
  
  
The tranquil presence of the full moon loomed over him in the otherwise darkness, staring at him openly without emotion. He stared right back, catching his breath in awe as a cold breeze fluttered his eyelashes.  
  
  
  
/Please help me. Anyone. ~Please~./  
  
  
  
No answer. He still knelt, still believing somehow that his plea was being considered.  
  
  
  
That's when a single snowflake drifted out of blackness.  
  
  
  
He was being mocked. Mocked by the gods. So, Ryou ran.  
  
  
  
Far away from Bakura: ~himself~.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
"Yami! Pawns can only move one space!"  
  
  
  
"You know," he replied, idly twisting the wooden figure in his long fingers "Even the smallest soldier can change to course of a war. Remember that Malik."  
  
  
  
". . .Okay. I think you should stay away from Isis' 'Lord of the Rings' DVD."  
  
  
  
His other gave him an insane grin that many had readily learned to hate.  
  
  
  
Malik had been attempting to teach his Yami how to play chess for the past week or so, but without much success. This particular set had been a house- warming gift from the ever joyful Mutos, and was quite handsome with the hand-carved mahogany and pine pieces. Yet currently, it was only used as a bulky bunch of junk in their rather shabby apartment, for Isis hated to play, and his yami, obviously, was not very constructive.  
  
  
  
"Not from the 'Lord of the Rings' sonny!" he explained tauntingly with a wiggling finger. "I learned 'to-ma-toes' from there. Or Bakura maybe. . .I'm not rightly sure."  
  
  
  
"Ryou you mean."  
  
  
  
"Same thing."  
  
  
  
"~No~." Malik gave an icy glare to his deranged facial expression. "They are ~not~ the same, that's like saying that you and ~I~ are the same person."  
  
  
  
"But we are."  
  
  
  
Silence. No matter how hard he tried, he could never deny that truthfully, though he had attempted numerous ways to stay clear of a completely undeniable statement. He winced as this one snuck up on him.  
  
  
  
"Anyway, I know for a fact that kings don't move nearly as readily as servants (the spoiled idiots). I mean, take the pharaoh for example. . ."  
  
  
  
Malik sighed, running his fingers through his golden hair before interrupting.  
  
  
  
"It's the queens that move farther."  
  
  
  
"Oh?" his violet eyes seemed impossibly large as he peered down at the polished, wooden set. "Well, that doesn't make sense! Women--"  
  
  
  
"Isis wouldn't like you saying that."  
  
  
  
"Pft."  
  
  
  
The young Egyptian truly hated his yami, but he was after all, nothing more than himself. And it wasn't as if he could kick him out of the apartment or anything, so as long as he didn't do anything morally unacceptable, he stayed. And though he not doubt the hatred that no hikari should ever be trusted to carry, having him there was better than him raising havoc on the streets, he reasoned.  
  
  
  
/Psycho. Probably would kill anybody he could get his hands on./  
  
  
  
"I heard that!" the dark allowed a few longish bang tendrils to fall over his eyes in a pout.  
  
  
  
"It's true though." Malik said without remorse "Why are you insane anyway?!"  
  
  
  
"Because you are."  
  
  
  
Malik glared icily with him only smiling widely, finally letting his temper snap.  
  
  
  
"Screw it. I'm taking the trash out." His chair grinded unpleasantly into the cabinet behind him, but he didn't even care.  
  
  
  
//Oh, and aibou?//  
  
  
  
/Don't call me that./ "So sorry." He didn't sound sorry at all //What's the difference between a king and a pharaoh?//  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
"Ra, I wish we had more trash this week." Malik muttered, angrily shoving the said garbage with more force than really needed. He sniffed in a disapproving manner at the handful of snowflakes dancing around his nose. In Egypt, they never had to put up with this crap, the seasons there were simple; hot, and hotter. The climate change in the Ishtar's move was probably the thing he hated most about Domino.  
  
  
  
Isis was supposed to come home late from the museum that night, and Malik was beyond unhappy in having to deal with 'Mr. Happy-Mad-Dead-Man' for longer than needed. Though there was nothing else to it, the situation's unfavorable reality replayed in his mind, in fast forward. It was one of the only things he managed to think about.  
  
  
  
That, and the fact that the moment he stepped out of the door, he could easily sense the uncontrollable glee as his other slipped his king piece into the microwave. . .  
  
  
  
/Why is it that whenever he comes across any sort of ruler, he immediately makes a connection with Yugi's frickid yami!/  
  
  
  
Just as he was dragging his soft-soled feet back up the worn steps with regret, he noticed something amiss.  
  
  
  
Not ~quite~ silence.  
  
  
  
Malik swallowed, narrowing his eyes and becoming quite conscious of his physical self. He could barely make out the small sounds of pure sadness, mingling eerily with the yellow street lamps, haunting the darkness.  
  
  
  
The suspicious blonde instinctively readied himself in a defensive position.  
  
  
  
Pause.  
  
  
  
Ryou stumbled out of a nearby bush.  
  
  
  
Malik retreated from his fighting mood at once, with his first glance at his white-haired-friend. Ryou Bakura was the gentlest person he knew.  
  
  
  
But his appearance reflected otherwise.  
  
  
  
It was startling for Malik to say the least, seeing him bruised, battered, and obviously frightened to madness, however temporary. He was trembling violently, muttering things that didn't make sense, all the while maintaining the transformed look of his normally steadily calm gaze.  
  
  
  
"Ryou, what. . .?"  
  
  
  
He only now seemed to notice that Malik was there.  
  
  
  
"Please. . ." he whimpered ". . .help m-me."  
  
  
  
Then he collapsed into the blonde's arms.  
  
  
  
The tanned teen was rather spooked at this, but he had no intention of refusing action when he heard his friend's plea. Cradling the rather thin boy in his arms awkwardly, he marched back up the steps to good ol' home sweet home.  
  
  
  
/My gods Ryou, you're freezing!/  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Okie dokie my friends and fellow writers, my first chapter of my first YGO ficcie is now UP! I may have some romance in it later, though it's hard to tell if I should go with a yaoi storyline. . .or not yaoi. So if anyone reads this, and cares about that, tell me, for I will make your comment worthwhile. Don't forget to R+R, I'm not sure if I should continue this. Thankies! *blows kisses*  
  
giggle 


	2. A Change of Heart, Dear Ryou?

There he was.  
  
  
  
  
  
A painfully familiar environment; swirling shades of cool colors floating and accompanying his own situation.  
  
  
  
  
  
Was he. . .there?  
  
  
  
  
  
The pure illustration of nothingness was a subtle relief for Ryou. He welcomed the oblivion with open arms. And yet. . .  
  
  
  
  
  
If he was there, then where was ~here~?  
  
  
  
  
  
He somehow understood that it was all somehow too good to be true, and was ready to banish regret by the time he felt his toes touch the ground. Or the Shadow Realm's equivalent, whatever that was.  
  
  
  
  
  
The nameless, and forever forgotten shadows whispered silence into his ears, urging him to continue forward. So, placing on foot in front of the other in a vaguely familiar motion, he began to walk.  
  
  
  
  
  
It wasn't too long before he could make out a few shapes in the distance. His pace quickened slightly.  
  
  
  
  
  
He came upon a forest of silver-sparkled trees, growing oddly out of illusion. Ryou had always felt relatively comfortable in forests, but there was something unnervingly peculiar about this one.  
  
  
  
  
  
The trees were all exact copies of one another, spaced evenly in never- ending rows, like a child's 'Crayola' drawing of an ideal never to be achieved. They were deciduous, empty branches reaching out with a skeletal quality, completely devoid of an impression of leaves.  
  
  
  
  
  
With a moment's hesitation of surveying his surroundings, he continued in a straight line, right into the thickening white fog.  
  
  
  
  
  
It took days of walking, or so it seemed, to come across his unknown destination. He really had no idea where he was trying to walk to, but when the delicate silent stream became visible through the fog, he felt the smallest bit of fulfillment.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ryou. . ."  
  
  
  
  
  
He whirled around in the direction of the voice, faced only with more white. The boy was quite sure that he had not imagined the call, nor the high giggle that followed.  
  
  
  
  
  
A bit of the mysterious fog parted slightly.  
  
  
  
/Her./  
  
  
  
  
  
It was an appearance that could never be mistaken; lofty robes, perfect golden hair, and a divided appearance of complete contrast. She was knelt down on a rock beside the stream, wings spread out impressively.  
  
  
  
  
  
The Change of Heart.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Tell me dear Ryou," she called out "what is it that troubles you so?"  
  
  
  
  
  
He situated himself awkwardly on a rock, not too close, and sighed in a weary jest of what he truly felt. "Things."  
  
  
  
  
  
Her lovely eyes went sullen for a moment.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Your Yami?" she growled in a deeper, more accusing tone. Ryou's body shuddered abruptly at her comment, but he wisely or perhaps cowardly in a sense, stayed silent, only fidgeting distractedly in his lap.  
  
  
  
  
  
The Change of Heart smiled apologetically, but sharply changed the uncomfortable subject.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Do you. . .have any regrets? Anything you would have rather not done in the past?" she asked innocently, and patiently waiting for a real answer. The white-haired boy was confused somewhat of its purpose, but a spirit like her did not go off by the same values as most people he had come across.  
  
  
  
  
  
His head jerked up to face her, only finding that indeed, her inquiring gaze was quite harmless and sincere.  
  
  
  
  
  
Well, not ~really~ appearing harmless, but the sincere part was real enough.  
  
  
  
  
  
However it was odd, for this was the same question he had unconsciously been asking himself for quite a while, but did he really have an answer. It was hard to say if his current dilemma was brought upon himself, ~by~ himself, or was it something completely different to cause his sorrow?  
  
  
  
  
  
Yet he bit his lip in determination and looked inside himself for the answer. He was only greeted with emptiness.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'm sure everyone regrets something that they did in their lifetime." He told her "But I try to keep my mind off those things." His gaze averted to an upward posture, somehow searching for the sun and its accompanying eclectic wonders. What he really wanted to admit then, was /at least I try/, but he knew it was useless, both the favor of pity, and the search for the sun.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I see." Only now did Ryou suspect that perhaps this was only an insane dream, and eventually his sleeping thoughts would revert back to their normal routine of nightmares. . .but somehow, he was convinced that this was not a normal case.  
  
  
  
  
  
He had always adored the Change of Heart for some reason unbeknownst to even himself, perhaps it was the moment's salvation from perdition when his eyes trailed across the particular card, or its peaceful yet strong and respected abilities. Whatever the reason, his natural reaction as his realizations sorted out, her lovely but great and heavy sorrow concerned him greatly. It was her who spoke the initiative, though.  
  
  
  
  
  
"That was never true for me." The Hikari soul commented.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Of course, ~I'm~ not human. ~I'm~ just a monster." The Yami hissed bitterly. Ryou shuddered a bit, now painfully reminded of what he had escaped from. His ring had been abandoned under his old bed, and though it was certainly obvious it would find its way back to him soon enough, it was worth the freedom, however temporary, wasn't it?  
  
  
  
  
  
He noticed the physical changes she was rapidly undergoing; of narrowing eyes, straightening posture, expanding wings and what would in normal circumstances, be described as distressed floating tendrils.  
  
  
  
  
  
"But you're not a monster!" he cried with such ferocity he surprised himself. For a split second, he thought of his little outburst was something that his Yami had said. Ryou honestly wouldn't have cared if that was true, but he ~did~ feel strongly about his favorite card's brilliance.  
  
  
  
  
  
And though it was something that Yugi and the others, including Ryou, hadn't quite understood fully yet, it wasn't just ~believing~ that the cards had a heart, and trusting them with your soul, the cards loved their masters just as much. They only had trouble expressing the bond through any way besides fighting. . .  
  
  
  
  
  
Change of Heart understood though. It was startling her to see gentle Ryou's reaction, almost suspecting a more sinister influence on his distress. The white-haired boy was someone whom she cared for greatly; masters in the past had never quite been like him.  
  
  
  
  
  
/How could he care for another's welfare so sincerely, when his own fate is so miserable?/ An ulterior motive perhaps? No. Hikaris would never do anything of the sort. . .even one who had the uncanny ability to walk freely in the Shadow Realm.  
  
  
  
  
  
His face slowly calmed back to its known state of normalcy, and he gave an apologetic, but sad smile as he stared back at his fidgeting hands. Both Yami and Hikari noticed that if anything, ~this~ was a forced expression rather than the one at the scene of his outburst.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Sorry. . ." he muttered.  
  
  
  
  
  
She was unsure of what to do, but she ~was~ sure she needed to do something. The poor boy had not experienced true happiness in a long expanse of time. . .well, why not?! The other half of his soul, that's why, and this angered her even more.  
  
  
  
  
  
A simple 'duel monster' could not affect reality directly, but in the Shadow Realm, anything was possible. And if a piece of reality just so happened to wander into its depths, well, the Shadow Realm was known to have 'lasting impressions'.  
  
  
  
  
  
/Master does not want to be hurt./ she could sense that easily. Maybe it was just the fact that she had a Hikari that approved of her Yami, and the same for the Yami, but it seemed unusual for a Yami to abuse to the point of the Hikari able to lose its brilliance. . .  
  
  
  
  
  
With a wry grin, the being understood a very useful solution. Ryou was completely oblivious, mistaking the Yami's controlled smile as a sneer rather than brilliant idea.  
  
  
  
  
  
Being that Bakura and Ryou were technically one in the same, she could easily understand their thoughts and the processes in which they applied, for either one of them if she so desired. Though the Yami/Hikari duo loved only one master, Ryou, they understood that Bakura, the seemingly impossibly strong tyrant, had one vital weakness.  
  
  
  
  
  
She abruptly stood, startling the boy.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Thank you, Master Ryou, insights are valuable." She spoke loudly and clearly, intimidating him unintentionally. The Change of Heart's robes fluttered with an ethereal quality as she slowly stepped forward, until she was barely a foot away (by reality's fragile standards) from his pointed nose.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Now, the favor shall be returned." She concluded, touching her palm to his forehead, and before he had a chance to react, she ~concentrated~. . .and. . .  
  
  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
  
  
Ryou jolted awake.  
  
  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Woohooooooooo! Another one there for ya, hope it was an enjoyable experience! I am desperately in need of advise (aka, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism), and support I suppose. Just took the SAT yesterday, so please. . .help turn me sane, darnit!  
  
Thank you person who did, I'll think about it ^^  
  
If I don't update 'till then, Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!  
  
Kuja: Crap, she's getting obsessed with capitalization again. . .  
  
Leon: Hyne help us. . .  
  
giggle: ^^  
  
Toodles everybody!  
  
Disclaimer: ('Cuz I decided to put it at the end. . .) Don't own any of this stuff. . .otherwise Ryou would blush way more than healthy, and. . .and. . .I'd fit Yue in there somehow. . .oO 


	3. Surprising Appearance

Ryou jolted awake  
  
The bed under him groaned a distinctively different tone than what he was used to; well loved and well worn rather than just unmistakably broken. He was tightly tucked in as well, a strangely familiar occurrence rather than finding himself waking in the tossed bed of a restless sleeper.  
  
However, it was undeniably cozy.  
  
He felt different in unfamiliar surroundings. ~Safe~ somehow. Despite his stomach's continuous protests, he lay there peacefully, in a wandering state of mind.  
  
He always was the wanderer. . .wasn't he?  
  
After his eyes recovered enough to see clearly, he was surprised to find the window shades tightly clamped shut, only betraying the glittering dawn on its restricted crack-frame. Soon after his eyesight, came his sense of smell. It was no longer that musty aura of household neglect, but an exotic taste of musk, jasmine and cinnamon, pleasurably intertwining themselves. Ryou suddenly shuddered for not connecting the dots before.  
  
The boy squinted wearily. Managing to use his vision to it's stretched extreme, he could only just make out a neatly framed acrylic painting, hung over the dresser. His lips tightened in a jest of a smile, but at least it was sincere at the memory. He had given them his beloved painting of the three god cards' images, as a sort of unofficial seal to a blossoming friendship. He always looked back on it as one of his better pieces.  
  
That settled it.  
  
He was in the Ishtal's home, but how? And more importantly ~why~?  
  
Ryou somehow managed to thrash enough to loosen the death-like grip the bed linens were suffocating him with, and carefully stood upon the tan carpeting. He found himself still clothed in yesterday's selection (not that it changed much anyway), and with a faint tinge of blush on his cheeks, he found his sneakers included.  
  
He tried to adjust the position of his khaki pants, but they still seemed strangely uncomfortable, and ~stifling~ almost.  
  
/Must be gaining some weight. . .strange./  
  
In fact, Ryou ~did~ feel stranger than usual. Oddly. . .empty, yet fuller somehow.  
  
/I hope I wasn't too much of a nuisance. . ./ he thought, still instinctively trying to straighten his pants again. /But what an odd dream. . ./  
  
It had been clearer, more vibrant than any other dream he remembered before, but that's all it was. That was a bit disappointing, but he should have known better, nothing that turned out so well could be anything remotely near reality.  
  
But that was what dreams were for, right?  
  
More questions, with hopeless answers. . .  
  
For some reason, that thought made his head spin, causing him to feel a bit queasy as well. Ryou clutched his stomach with a grimace of internal discomfort, not quite sure if it was just a reaction to pain, or one of the instinctive physical action of dread.  
  
/I have to go back, i-it my home after all./ though after the recent events of being alone with himself, it was hard even to convince himself of that.  
  
The lump that conjured in his throat wasn't bad enough anymore to choke him like it always used to, but the vivid impression of a widening tangerine, was not particularly comfortable. Though it was something that he had never fully accepted, ~couldn't~ be accepted, it was a dreaded inevitability that had slowly become routine.  
  
Ryou buried his face in his icy fingertips, legs bent over the side of the bed. He pushed his eyeballs farther into their sockets, as some sort of painful comfort.  
  
The action, though relieving, seemed unusual in a way, and he quickly withdrew his delicate hands from his face. A few stray locks tickled his nose and slowly settled as he turned his gaze downward.  
  
There went that dizzy feeling again.  
  
It's strength had increased since its last strike, now forcing him to grope tightly at the linen sheets with a curved fist, and face. Ryou's breath began pumping in breaths of a different rhythm, and he failed in keeping himself even remotely steady.  
  
However, he was more startled with what he ~thought~ he saw. The simple idea was enough to drain what little blood his face held in the first place; he ~had~ to make sure.  
  
A mirror in the corner reflected the sharp light around the window. He managed to barely stumble up, feeling his restricted shoes ache at the sole, and sending waves of fiery pain up his entire legs. That unfavorable sensation was coupled with a strange weighted feeling hammering at his already-shaky stance, but he narrowed his melted-chocolate eyes, eventually succeeding in locating a light switch.  
  
Ryou flipped it up sharply.  
  
He groaned from the top of his throat, as the sudden and considerable light shone down from above.  
  
With the other arm, the one that wasn't currently supporting his stomach already, he shielded his reddened eyes from the exposure to the artificial mastery. He probably would have appeared quite unconstructive if anyone happened to walk in on him at that moment, he thought, and the glittering stars dancing under his eyelids giggled appreciatively at his impudence.  
  
That was when he first saw his reflection.  
  
His arms dropped harshly to their sides, completely oblivious, completely forgotten.  
  
/Oh my. . .no. . .OH MY GODS!!!/  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
*Sigh* sorry about the shortness, but for tension-based reasons, I had to end it there for now. That, and the fact that I am completely overusing repetition, and I sound like a. . .corny fantasy novelist wannabe. Now that's a scary thought. . .  
  
Meanwhile, in the disappointing setting of my ever-prolonging reality, I happened to see 'The Two Towers' on Friday. Man. Totally awesome, and in my opinion, better than the first. This is coming directly from someone who had taken film classes for three years, mind you.  
  
Now hopefully, since it IS winter break and all, the next update won't take quite as long. Look for it *gasp* as early as this week. I'll start typing it up after I update 'Forgotten Promises' again, because I'm at a climax there as well.  
  
Urges to update sooner are always welcome, sent in more than one way ^^  
  
Happy Holidays everyone!  
  
giggle 


	4. No One Would Know Me Anymore

AS OF 12-26-02, I HAVE MADE A FEW SUBTLE EDITS TO THE ORIGINAL CHAPTER. NOT MUCH THAT YOU WOULD CATCH, BUT IT MEANS SOMETHING TO ME SO nyaaaaa!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Oh. My. God. *pounds head on the wall*  
  
Kuja: *watches*  
  
This is one of the most horrid chapters ever! I really don't do well under pressure. . .but please read! It's really important in the whole scheme of things. *sigh* Who knows, maybe you'll like it. Oh yeah, and I don't own YGO.  
  
*pounds head on the wall again*  
  
Kuja: Hmm *pounds head*  
  
Ryou: *takes a double take at chapter* HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO MEEE!  
  
Sorry. This has got to be the most stereotypical thing I have ever written in my life. . .  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
/Oh my. . .OH MY GODS!/  
  
His chocolate eyes appeared larger on his face, framed in longer, darker and more defined lashes. The chin under them was smoother, topping off a slender neck, and a more delicate shoulder-span. There were other things too; a more slender waist yet broader hips curving saucily, the, Ryou gulped but still lost in disbelieving shock. . .larger chest, and with a sudden jolt of realization:  
  
~They~ were gone.  
  
Obviously he, or rather ~she~, had been through the event of a rather interesting dream.  
  
Without immediately realizing it, Ryou stomped up to the old mirror, and shook it roughly in her now quite feminine hands. The cool metal frame contrasted considerably with her blood-pumped fingertips, and she bit back a dry sob at her reflection.  
  
/No. . .no, this can't be happening! I never WANTED TO CHANGE!!!/  
  
Her mind, the world, only responded in silence.  
  
The profound, yet simple response made her whimper down, and lower herself to the cheap carpeting. Silence's blanket wrapped coldly around her, and gave her no sense of warmth.  
  
The mirror shattered.  
  
She jolted out of her mental suffering. The abrupt sound succeeded in forcing her to realize the ~true~ truth, the ~realness~ of the situation, as the bitterly dry taste of fear overwhelmed her senses.  
  
It seemed like always either too frantic to think straight, or too zoned out to be frantic. Right now, the new and unexpected arrival to the world of womanhood, was in her frantic stage.  
  
/I have to get out of here. . .what if they find me. . .find. . .~out~. . .don't know what I would do. . ./  
  
The small closet door rolled sideways in annoyance, but opened under her shaking hands. She snatched the first thing she could find, a grubby old fleece blanket, and threw it over herself like an unofficial shield. Then, she began to unlock the dormant window.  
  
/. . .because no one here, would know me anymore./  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Yami Malik knew something was up with that kid his 'other' had brought in late last night. And he ~diffidently~ noticed something strange, something amiss in the magical balance that morning, it was what had woken him up.  
  
He surveyed his Hikari's bedroom with slitted, almost menacing eyes. A tingle in his back gave him the urge to stretch, and he now did so as it became apparent there were no threats.  
  
His Aibou slept peacefully on his overgrown bed, not being a restless sleeper at all. The window above him caused his fair hair to sparkle in the shape of a crown as he continued to sleep; oblivious. The active Malik tilted his head to the side.  
  
/So beautiful. . ./  
  
He gave a physical jolt of surprise. /Now where in the Judgment did ~that~ come from?/ His cheeks flushed in combined shame and embarrassment, all the while turning from his pleasurable sight, for once glad that Malik couldn't see him then.  
  
Yet, he felt as spoiled as the son of Ra when he rested his gaze back on the boy. No, he would never love him back, but it was these early mornings where he could theoretically look upon his love without shame, and fill his ancient mind with the fake wonders of having a ~true~ partner.  
  
And he daren't get any closer.  
  
/Wait a. . .oh Ra, what's the point of denying it to ~myself~?/  
  
The pharaoh and his 'vessel' as Yami Malik liked to call him, had gotten along just fine, and though only friends at the moment, the ex-thief saw those sidelong glances of concern and love for his Hikari quite clearly. He himself was in a new state of madness; head over heels for his Aibou, and his dear friend Bakura and Hikari. . .well. . .  
  
/Hmph. And they call ~me~ insane./  
  
A dramatic crash from the room next door, echoed over surprisingly well.  
  
The boy on the bed stirred, as the one on the chair looked upon him in horror.  
  
"Wh--" he yawned "--at was that?"  
  
"Nothing." He didn't respond in a voice that was guilty, but one that was amazingly soothing. Yami Malik sent a magically born spark of sleepiness to the Hikari, completely erasing anymore doubts.  
  
His body went comfortably slack within a few seconds.  
  
The Yami winced as another sound almost woke his Hikari back up again; the clumsy ~*swoosh*~ of a window opening. Puzzled, he carefully arose from the wooden chair, as his brows knitted tightly, and tiptoed across the room with a subtle grace that ONLY a thief could ever hope to achieve. Malik often prided himself of the fact, but now was not the time. ~Especially~ if his Aibou was possibly endangered. . .  
  
/What the hell is that boy doing over there?!/  
  
Carefully tucking his form into the shadows, he peered down through the wavy-glass windows, just in time to see blanket-covered form stumbling down the street. His eyes widened speculatively. No matter how strange the modern times seemed, ~this~ did not qualify in Yami Malik's category of 'normal behavior'.  
  
The fleece-covered figure scurried out of sight, and into the streets beyond.  
  
Though, through even his confusion, it was impossible to ignore the strong wave of nauseating emotion sweeping over him, and sending him tumbling backward.  
  
Hysteria. Completely hysterical fear.  
  
/Oh my. . .what happened to him. . ./ Once the initial shock wore, it turned into a vibrant anger /Dammit Tomb Robber, your emotions are much too tangled to be trifled with. . .or understand./  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I decided to keep it short, to wear a bit on any tempers you may carry for its plainness. I do hope you will check out the next chapter; so much better in my opinion, for I already have it down on paper. But trust me, this is going in the original plan, and I have everything completely thought out. . .  
  
The next chapter (yes, I AM trying to change the subject), holds even more of that confusing bizarreness for those who love it.  
  
And I PROMISE that you will figure this out as a 'different' fanfic than the others of it's kind.  
  
Please withhold from flames, I already know I don't like this chapter, and I don't need anyone to rub it in right now. Flamers, go hug a tree.  
  
Happy Christmas for all those who celebrate it!  
  
giggleplex 


	5. Distant Questioning

Woo *is getting dizzy at reviews* so happy, I updated early! ^^ Thank you peeps, I really needed that extra boost of fun.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Her head swam in a floating shock. Reality was unrecognizable, as Ryou stumbled somewhere, ~anywhere~ she could go, and never be found.  
  
Once shot back into that seemingly distant, but fully painful consciousness, and pausing the instinctive steps to nowhere, she found herself in a perfectly manicured and ideal suburban neighborhood, that dimly reminded her (as if in a peaceful life long past) entirely too much of "Edward Scissorhands" to be anywhere near comforting. The daylight reflected it was still quite early. A tempting situation to plan.  
  
She tenderly sat herself down on the crumbling curb edge, tightening the grip of the blanket upon her shoulders. To anyone who dared to look, the grubby piece of cloth would completely obscure her appearance, or at least theoretically. Only a sexless, and unworthy figure would show where Ryou stood.  
  
Which, as a matter of fact, was exactly how she felt in the first place.  
  
It was immediately apparent to her, that she couldn't ever get through this alone, and never being particularly independent in the first place, it was just an inevitable, at least partial-solution. However, there was a particular problem; her few friends were in an otherwise demanded quantity and who would help Ryou, when they had many more pressing issues with other friends. Decisions would, no doubt, be difficult. Ryou was quite well-aware of the fact that the only reason the boy she once was, actually ~had~ friends, was because they were too ~friendly~ for their own good.  
  
Sure he never had friends, but she knew she had nothing to lose in any situation.  
  
Tea was the first to consciously deny. Though her heart was ~always~ in the right place, but her. . .yielding disposition would most likely confuse herself in an emotional burden. Besides, just being the follower she was, who was also too a-muddled with her future dancing career to try to accept anything out of the ordinary, there was no telling how she may react.  
  
Joey had a sickly sister to still take care of, and was not really that pitying type in the first place. Tristan was just the same in his actions. She didn't want pity though, but they just couldn't be trusted in something so trivial either.  
  
And Yugi, Ryou's eyes instinctively misted, Yugi was one who triumphed, one who never gave up, and the exact person she wish she could have been modeling herself after. Though she was certain that he would help her out in less than a heartbeat, she would always feel tense and horrified if-ever she was reminded of taking that advantage.  
  
Malik wouldn't be able to keep anything from his Yami for long, who just happened to be quite good friends with Ba--  
  
/No. I can't let him find me like this!/  
  
Otogi ((AN - yes, I, like everyone else like his Japanese name better than. . .*shudder*)). . .no. . .Kaiba. . .hell no. . .  
  
Ryou hugged her knees to her chest. How was she ever going to get through this? Every little boy's most horrible nightmare, something that she would have never been prepared to face? Her eyes became burdened with lead-heavy tears that jumbled her senses, and she weakly sniffed against the morning zephyr.  
  
A car drove dispassionately by.  
  
Was this what the Change of Heart had done? Why? These questions clung to her mind like a plague, somehow still remaining untouched, unanswered.  
  
Why did her life seem to be revolved around questions?  
  
But at that moment, it didn't matter. She tried to ignore their stinging presence because of that fact, hugging her knees even closer, like a security blanket.  
  
She needed someone who wouldn't mind that "Ryou" was now a girl. . .or even better yet, someone who regularly embraced feminism. . .  
  
/Come on now, the last thing I need is to narrow my choices. . .wait!/  
  
A few nearby birds fled in alarm, as she abruptly jumped up in a newly- found aura of purpose.  
  
/Of course./  
  
The colorless enigma started off yet again, without looking back.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Mai Valentine quickly spat out her minty toothpaste in annoyance.  
  
Carefully confirming that her regally purple bathrobe was firmly fastened, she started down the hardwood steps to answer the doorbell's irritating whine. /Why do I even bother. . .probably another girl scout with those ~awful~ cookies./  
  
It rang again.  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she gave a disgruntled snap. Her hair was still wet, it was eight in the morning, and her hair-dryer had officially blown its last strand. Mai was in a ~sour~ mood, too annoyed with life in general at that moment to feel any sort of cheerfulness. Or at least that was what she thought.  
  
~*Ding-Dong*~  
  
At that little remark, she didn't even bother to alert its caller of her presence, causing its eerie echo to remain in its wake about her empty house. She made it to the door, inwardly regretting answering the assumed duty.  
  
Mai unlocked the door and opened it to a crack.  
  
"Yeah?!"  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"I-I. . ."  
  
Second doubts? A bit of an understatement perhaps.  
  
Ryou truthfully tried not to fidget under Mai's gaze, but the nervous grip on the blanket obviously thought otherwise. /Oh dear gods, what on earth was I thinking?/ she sniffed quietly, upturning her head slightly as to not let the tears spill.  
  
The poor girl was so caught up in unfavorable emotions, she didn't even notice the door-crack in front of her widening slowly.  
  
Mai narrowed her sunset-shade violet eyes. "Bakura? Is that you?" it was honestly hard to tell under that grubby thing, and the shadowy patio overhang.  
  
"Ye--s. . .I m-mean. . .may I-I come in?" the shadowed eyes pleaded understanding, and though she could not see them clearly, the blonde one stepped aside with her head tilted in speculation. Ryou wasted no idle time, feeling increasingly vulnerable outside.  
  
"Bakura, what the hell are you doing h--" she cut herself short, too entirely shocked to continue as the other girl let the blanket-disguise fall.  
  
Ryou, under normal circumstances, was actually taller than Mai, though no one would have ever guessed it then. It was so painful to tense up her face enough to dam up the tears. Too painful. She let her long arms flare out slightly, at an unspoken questioning to the gods. Mai's expressively startled stare, went almost entirely unnoticed.  
  
When she saw her hair finally obscuring her face as she bent upon the hardwood, she felt such a stinging pity, she almost startled herself. The few tears that splattered one-by-one on the wood, were so dreadfully soul- gripping for the young, and normally careless girl, she could only allow a handful to fall.  
  
And for once, Ryou had an honest shoulder to weep on.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Okay, I would like to make clear to you all that this will NOT be yuri. I'm sorry, but I don't think I could make it work very well ^^  
  
The next chapter has some for-sure Yami Bakura semi-POV for you all, so I hope you enjoy it then. I am much happier about this chapter than the last, so tell me what you think, okay?!  
  
Heh. I got to see Spirited Away again. . .Haku. . .*drools*  
  
Toodles and a Happy New Year!  
  
giggleplex  
  
  
  
PS - Hmm, doesn't that little "go" button right there look inviting? Yes, I am greedy, you know. . .^^ 


	6. Deserving

Disclaimer: I do not like green eggs and ham, so owner of YGO I am . . .  
  
NOT.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
"Where the hell IS HE!"  
  
When he finally threw that particular chair, it managed to rivet a dent in the floral wallpaper, though the maddened one did not care in the least.  
  
Bakura tried yelling. He tried the Ring. He tried pounding . . . hell, he even tried ~coaxing~ for Osiris' sake, but nothing changed. It really ~was~ a hopeless venture, no matter how well he tried to convince himself otherwise.  
  
When that reality finally slapped him in the face, he faltered in the façade of madness; It really happened. To ~him~.  
  
His stupid Hikari . . . no, ~Ryou~ was gone.  
  
He bit down, using the swollen emptiness as a rather uncomfortable cushion. That must have been the most daring thing the cowardly . . . ~Ryou~ had done in his entire pathetic life. The fool. /He already knew that I will catch up with him soon./  
  
Though he thought it rather disconcerting, NEVER frightening, for he would never admit to something as ridiculous as that, that his Ring did not help his venture of seeking. They were both connected in its power, but this morning it seemed to reflect that ~he~ was the only one there, the only one under its pleasureful power. Not a bad thing really; that foolish boy never understood the true wonder of power, but it did make things a great deal more difficult in finding him again.  
  
/Probably ran off to nowhere again . . . stupid, why do I bother?/  
  
Just as he prepared to stomp out of the doorway, the phone rang. Ryou's misty stolen memories understood that this was an action in which to respond to, nearly immediately in a preferable sense; one of the few unconstructive honorifics that went with living in modern times. Now, Bakura was never one to be considered "honorable", not even in Egypt where he lived his life out (he was a tomb robber for gods' sake!), but that shrill ring slicing the silence unmercifully caught him at a bad time. He was too riled up in anger, and bitter deceptions to think much over before he answered.  
  
"What do you want?!"  
  
"You . . . BASTARD!"  
  
Malik's voice was backed considerably with uncontrolled magic, and was powerful even on the other side of the phone line, and Bakura blanched in surprise. For once, he nearly faltered in a witty retort to something less- than flattering.  
  
" . . . W-what?"  
  
He heard a shuffling on the other line, and distinctive ~*snap*~ of a closing door. The snow-haired spirit tightened his stomach.  
  
"You really don't get it, do you?"  
  
This was Yami Malik, though his voice was a merest natural tone than used normally . . . something Bakura hadn't heard since the innocent days of childhood, back in Egypt.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?!" he yelled into the receiver, regaining the slightest bit of his normal composure.  
  
"Have you even noticed what's missing yet?" how puzzling.  
  
But Bakura contorted in rage and blaming.  
  
"You have him, don't you?!"  
  
"Why would you care."  
  
/Stupid Yami . . . talking in questions . . . trying to intimidate me . . . /  
  
"He's MINE dammit! MY Hikari! How dare you . . . "  
  
"Dare I ~what~?" Yami Malik's voice was now seething in the anger. "~You~ shouldn't have the right to anything." Pause. "Much less live again, as you're doing now."  
  
It was all too much. Bakura was too shocked to respond coherently, so a pregnant pause between them lengthened, and lengthened--  
  
"But you're wrong. We don't . . . or at least we don't anymore, have him with us."  
  
He instinctively shut his eyes and wisely waited for him to continue.  
  
"He left about seven-o-clock this morning. I can't believe I'm telling you this, I didn't even tell my Aibou."  
  
Bakura contained too much swollen pride to thank him as dearly as he felt inside.  
  
"I'm going to bring that . . . ~pathetic~ boy back."  
  
However, the Malik had more to say.  
  
"How you ever managed to get such an honest soul as his, I doubt I shall comprehend. You never deserved his gentleness . . . ever. My Aibou, I believe, has the correct opinion about you."  
  
The dial tone engulfed every coherent thought in Bakura's mind. He slid slowly down the wall, and the phone carelessly clattered to the floor.  
  
A single teardrop rolled down his cheek.  
  
He had never cried before. Never had anything to cry over.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Alright, this chapter IS short, but I have good reason to believe that the last one was longer than normal. THANK YOU SOOOOOOOO VERY MUCH REVIEWERS! *giggles uncontrollably*  
  
You don't understand how wonderful a feeling is as when you get a review for your efforts. It's unbelievable almost to think that someone actually likes my stuff. . .thank you again!  
  
(Especially to Serina {sp?}, you've stuck with this thing for a while, huh? ^^)  
  
Okay, OFFICIALLY Happy New Year!  
  
giggleplex 


	7. Ryou is Dead

DISCLAIMER - If I owned it, d'ya think I'd be writing FANfiction?!  
  
  
  
Sorry in advance if Mai seems a bit OOC . . . but she always was when helping out another gal, so nyah! : P Can't blame me!  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Mai carefully placed the china teacup in front of Ryou, and patiently (which was normally SO unlike her) took the seat on the opposite side of the coffee table.  
  
Ryou, with all of her routine manners somehow carelessly swept aside, had propped her knees up on the leather sofa, and was still moving with that constant tremble. She had attempted to reach for the steaming tea, but found that her hands were shuddering too violently too be trusted with anything delicate. The swirling and dancing tendrils of steam were interesting enough.  
  
After she had wept her entire heart away, she had confessed her story hoarsely to Mai, all the while apologizing for sounding so dumb, but Mai had listened obediently, waving them aside, with a deepening and concerned frown.  
  
This whole friend thing . . . it was a new experience for her, but she tried to make the best of it. /She's been through so much./  
  
Though the part about the Change of Heart still seemed a bit iffy from her perspective. Mai reasoned she didn't need any further explanation in spite of that disbelief; back at Battle City, she had never really believed in ~magic~, still didn't in fact and proud of it, for that was the preposterous kind of stuff out of a bad fantasy novel, or strange situation- quiz in a teen magazine! But, what she did accept were some of those strange phenomenons associated with that "shadow realm".  
  
People randomly losing their minds . . . disappearing into shadow . . . too much and too many to be a coincidence, and lucky Mai was friends with the ones directly in with the illusionary secret. She had learned to willingly look the other way as far as that stuff was concerned, it was hard not to in that situation, but turning a blind eye seemed just what Mai always did anyway.  
  
"Would you like to stay here?" she offered kindly.  
  
Those over-large eyes rippled in honest gratitude, and the look of near disbelief for receiving such kindness.  
  
"Thank you." She was calm enough now not to stutter, yet her voice only came out in a hoarse, almost-whisper from her throat carrying too many choking sobs.  
  
Mai was already determined, already running mental plans through her head like an uncontrolled river. "You probably don't want anyone else to know you're Ryou, right?"  
  
She nodded silently.  
  
"Then you need another name!" She exclaimed to a startled companion, clapping her hands together and leaning forward with a smile. Oh, this was going to be so much fun . . .  
  
Ryou stared at her for a moment, somewhat hesitating in any sense of enthusiasm. Eventually, she managed to form a small smile of her own, unable to dam any more of that fluttering and alien emotion the other girl was sporting at that moment.  
  
"How about Ria?" she asked immediately, tilting her head "It's close enough to Ryou, you could get used to it easier."  
  
She had to admit the unhesitating attitude calmed a little of her discomfort, so she bit her lip and humored her by twisting the name about her tongue, testing the feeling. It was alright . . . she supposed, but it just didn't seem to ~fit~ for some reason.  
  
The pounding headache entrapped inside her skull urged her to just agree and be done with it. She really was about to comply, when a startlingly brilliant idea seemed to come to mind.  
  
"Rei."  
  
"Huh?" Mai had been naming off random titles, when the almost seemingly mute girl spoke up softly.  
  
"Rei." She repeated "For a name I mean."  
  
"Ray . . . "  
  
"N-no, not quite as harsh sounding." Her eyes fluttered shut in minor, but relaxing contemplation. "Spelled 'ei'."  
  
There was a silence between the two. Mai was staring at her with raised eyebrows, so she automatically mistook it for profound doubt.  
  
"It's stupid, I know--" she said hurriedly.  
  
"I like it." Stated Mai simply, interrupting the disclaimer. "It should work well."  
  
She got up smoothly and stood over the confused girl with an unreadable expression, before picking up the now cold tea with a lax arm. Mai sniffed it and splattered it all over the other girl.  
  
"You were pitying yourself, I hope you don't mind, but you needed it."  
  
The girl was looking at her in disbelief, was this the same careless Mai the boy Ryou knew from before?  
  
"All right then." Mai looked at her straight in the eye after it became appearant she wasn't going to respond. "Ryou is now dead, and a new and exciting gal has come to take his place."  
  
"But he will always remain in our hearts." Rei whispered, feeling genuinely happy for the first time she could clearly remember.  
  
/Ryou is dead now. I hope he never has to come back to hell./  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Boy am I glad that's over with." Mai sighed, as she led the cautious Rei up her staircase. "Never was a sentimental type . . . "  
  
She offered nothing in response, not entirely sure what to make of the situation. Ryou had not been particularly close friends with Mai before, though what ~he~ had seen of her, certainly wasn't the same one offering ~her~ hospitality.  
  
"Are you going to just stay silent all the time! I thought I told you to stop feeling sorry for yourself!"  
  
Rei's head jolted up to her demand, and she feebly apologized; "Sorry--"  
  
"You've been apologizing this entire time, you know." She pointed out.  
  
Her lengthened bangs partially obscured her face as she turned her gaze downward, unsure of what to say in response.  
  
"I-I'm so--" she hissed under her breath at the near-slip of impudence. Rei finally decided to just start it all fresh, still a newbie to a more lazy side of socializing. "Where did you get the idea to dump the tea on my head?"  
  
"Oh, I saw this one thing in a joke shop once; 'wash away your sins'." She laughed "Of course, ~that~ isn't something that happens just by using some cheap soap! But I guess it's just the . . . assurance that counts, right?"  
  
"I guess so."  
  
Mai 'hmphed'. "We'll work on that. Anyway, washing away your troubles is kinda like starting a new life, so I figured it was worth a shot." Her blonde head poked inside the doorway at the end of the hall "Why don't you go ahead and take a shower, so I can lay something out for you to wear. I'm sure that stuff you're wearing now is awfully uncomfortable."  
  
What Rei ~intended~ to say back, was entirely different than what came out.  
  
"Why are you doing this?"  
  
She clamped her hand over her mouth immediately, inwardly cursing her foolishness. Her footsteps stopped, just as Mai's form wavered in the doorway.  
  
"Because . . . someone helped me . . . way back when." she stated quietly. Rei sensed that she was battling some inner demons of her own. She felt herself shrink back from the florescent bathroom illumination, just wanting to disappear.  
  
"And besides, ~us~ gals have to stick together!" when she faced her again, she was grinning uncontrollably, with no trace of the tension that had recently passed. Mai motioned for her to enter.  
  
"There are towels in the bottom cupboard, and when you're through, just head over there." She pointed to a door across the rosy hallway. "Take your time . . . and you should probably use the 'nioxin' for now, 'till we get a better fit for shampoo."  
  
Rei knew she was only trying to make her feel more comfortable, but it didn't seem to help much for her never-resting nerves. And she was just so ridiculously confused . . .  
  
Mai took her leave automatically, and proceeded back down the stairs, humming a tune.  
  
Then she noticed her rather extended collection of shampoos.  
  
/Geez Mai! ~Why~?/  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
*wipes forhead* Yes, finally . . .  
  
Guess what people; IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY! YIPPIDEE SKIPPIDEE!  
  
I feel so ~old~. Scary, I'm really not.  
  
But though you can't give me a present in the physical world, how 'bout a pretty review?! It'll be one of the best presents ever.  
  
  
  
IN RESPONSE TO KAT:  
  
I'm not cheating! Actually, I have no problems with writing a yaoi/shounen- ai story, it's just a major aspect of the plot. There probably will be yaoi incorporated eventually (it's kinda hard with all those bishies on one show), so patience my friend. (read chapter 4 again if you don't believe me!)  
  
TO OTHERS:  
  
I'm glad you thought the Bakura thing went well, I admit to having some doubts at first, but you guys like it so I'm happy! ^^ --see? HAPPY!  
  
  
  
Oh yeah, and before I forget, I'd like to ask you all something:  
  
I just watched a bit of "Love Hina", and LOVED it. The thing is, I'd like to do an AU based on it . . . possibly with YGO or FF7 characters. I already have some humorous ideas for who will play who, and I'm just curious to see if any of you would be interested in reading! If I did YGO, I'd have to change some of the guys into gals, but it would still work! Heh heh, I'll I'm saying is YAMI MALIK WITH DISTRUCTIVE TOYS! MWAHAHAHA-- *choke*  
  
TELL ME IN A REVIEW PLEASE!!! Thank you so much!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
(Thank you again. Happy birthday to me!) 


	8. Rinnie of the Sanctuary

DISCLAIMER - I don't OWN these characters . . . I'm just borrowing them for a while, that's all . . . *laughs nervously*  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
The extended shower at least succeeded in washing away the salty residue of tears and cleared her twisted throat, but did nothing to directly ease her endless worries and doubts. She vaguely recalled that blue-green goo Mai recommended (Nioxin) that she had applied earlier, as its distinctive scent twirled about the hallway. Her bare feet seemed to melt into the luscious carpeting with each tiny step.  
  
She shut and locked the door behind her; an instinctive action that "Ryou" learned quite quickly to adopt. It was a cozy little room Rei found herself in, balanced visually by a wide variety of landscape paintings, and the dominant forest curtains that were gently brushed against the closed window.  
  
On the bed, as promised, was a neatly laid outfit of a more modest style than what Rei would have expected; a long, poofy cream skirt, mint and somewhat form hugging shirt, and even a few lacy undergarments, whose lacy nature made Rei blush. She slipped everything on carefully, as to make sure not to soak the clothing with her damp hair, rolling her teeth over her lips all the while. Once she was confident that everything was successfully situated, she surveyed herself through the mirror.  
  
It was like staring at another person, through their foreign eyes.  
  
Rei had to ask herself; /Is this the way it's supposed to be?/ But not in the physical sense.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
She felt oddly small in the dark place, also naive. But a ~known~ sense of naivety that she didn't feel quite comfortable enough to test. Not like anyone who knew they were surrounded by unknown would care to test that idea . . .  
  
Flash.  
  
The abrupt frame of the purest white startled her as she cowered back, blinking stars out of her sight with a soundless grunt of pain. Her vision tried it's very best to adapt back to the darkness, but another painful flash of light interrupted the attempt, before it was completed.  
  
When everything cleared back to supposed normalcy, including a few of her wits, she confirmed her previous assumptions of the setting. She groaned and rubbed her eyes.  
  
When she opened them however, she was in for a shock.  
  
Eyes. Cold, lifelessly slackened eyes.  
  
Rei stumbled back on whatever that ground-impersonating substance of the shadow realm, in mixed astonishment and horror. Her heart beat so forcefully and loudly, it was hard not to imagine it was ever contained inside anything, let alone Rei's chest. But she immediately relaxed into wariness, how she even managed that, she was unsure, for the Change of Heart wasn't precisely her top pick to see at that moment.  
  
"Welcome to my home, Ryou." The one improperly addressed gave an involuntary shudder at the eerie and strangely malicious voice. As always, it seemed an echo, for the Change of Heart's posed lips never moved with the voice of her words, only into those frowns, grins and atrocious smirks.  
  
"I'm ~Rei~." She corrected, as she gingerly stood.  
  
The blonde ideal tilted her head to the side.  
  
"Deceiving yourself is no way to handle your distress." She stated matter- of-factly.  
  
Rei made a stubborn pose without seeming stuck-up, not at all pleased with the card's unappreciative neglect of human emotion. She was no longer frightened by reality (though this particular place certainly wasn't reality), or intimidated by possible power. At that moment anyway, and she conveniently ignored the fear of how long this daring attitude would last.  
  
"What would you know about these things?!" she demanded angrily.  
  
The dark soul became in control "Enough." She hissed.  
  
"But whoever said I was deceiving myself anyway? I . . . just don't want anyone to know what happened to me!" /What happened to Ryou./  
  
She stared at her for a moment, mouth twisted impassively.  
  
Just staring.  
  
"They say that humans share thoughts easily through speech . . . you are comfortable with doing so; which means you put a bit of yourself into others." She said finally.  
  
Rei's eyes narrowed "That's not the same thing!"  
  
"But once you place a bit of yourself in others, if you deceive them, then you are only deceiving yourself."  
  
"That's . . . not the same . . . " her reply this time was a bit on the feeble side, as she was now thinking confused, and trying her very best to immediately counter every point the spirit had made.  
  
She finally looked back up, 'determination' written all over her expression.  
  
"You're wrong." Rei said flatly "I know precisely who I am."  
  
The Change of Heart only gave another one of her unsettling smiles.  
  
"I am not one to contradict you Mistress."  
  
She turned smoothly, smiling to no where in particular. Or so it seemed.  
  
The white-haired one surveyed her surroundings in suspended surprise, she had only suspected it was just shapeless shadow as usual, or maybe even that queer forest from before.  
  
But ~this~ place, was not something she would have ~ever~ suspected.  
  
It was a quiet grove, spilling with white flowers and leafy bushes that looked so dense, they could probably conceal even the most secretive of secrets. There was a cottage nearby; too curly and too lopsided to ever possibly exist, except in a far-fetched dreamland, ~this~ dreamland. Then there was also a sun now, but it did not glow (though her surroundings were illuminated), and a ridiculously rosy and cartoon-ish face smiled down obliviously.  
  
Rei would have to admit to feeling quite uneasy in this heaven of skewed, fairy-tale perfection.  
  
/This . . . is a playground for nightmares!/  
  
"No. This is a sanctuary."  
  
She flipped around to face the pleased-looking spirit of deception. Her creamy skin did not even wrinkle in the slightest as her grin grew wider, and her plain robe did not wrinkle as she knelt down in a patch of daisies.  
  
"~Sanctuary~?" Rei asked as an oblivious skeptic "For ~whom~, might I ask?" /Who would EVER find comfort in such a dreadful place as this?!/  
  
"The lost souls." She replied, focusing on something behind her uncomfortable mistress.  
  
She turned slowly, somewhat dreading of what she might see.  
  
Once again, she shamelessly blamed her eyes of trickery.  
  
All it was, was a little girl. Not especially pretty, not especially cute (for she only appeared at around five), with hazy blondish hair and large blue eyes, surrounding a stubby red nose.  
  
"Heart! Ma'am! I--" she called out to the spirit . Rei decided this was all becoming too much weirder by the very second, for this girl was a direct illustration of ~normalcy~ in this surreal setting, so dreadfully misplaced . . .  
  
The little girl panted out a few breaths when she arrived in front of them, and looked strangely at Rei in the process. A perplexing and positively confused feeling warped Rei's mind; /How could this girl trust that thing so completely . . . doesn't she even understand what it's done?/ for she missed no points of comfort in the little conversation the three of them had already shared.  
  
/But then again, I trusted her . . . / the full effects of betrayal were now coming through, as her gaze turned slightly into an unwelcome glare.  
  
"Oh Rinnie!" the Change of Heart exclaimed "Your dress . . . "  
  
Rei felt a distinct jolt of surprise.  
  
"'S okay," interrupted Rinnie. The little girl smiled with a cute wink, and quite suddenly, the stain down the front of her dress disappeared. Then, she jutted stubby finger toward the unfamiliar white-head "Oo's dis?"  
  
The Yami and Hikari both cared enough to pat her on the head. "This is master--"  
  
"No."  
  
"Ryou."  
  
"Rei."  
  
"~Mistress~" the spirit hissed with such a tone of finality, that she knew better than to argue. She only continued that glare.  
  
"Yowe misstwiss?"  
  
"Indeed." She smiled her words with such care, that it sent Rei's feelings into a mass of bitter disbelief. "You might see her about sometimes."  
  
Rinnie giggled, just as Rei was about to inquire over that obviously mistaken statement. "Yowe pwetty!"  
  
She stopped, her mouth now gaping like a dry fish's.  
  
The little girl scrambled in a little pouch she had at her side, and pulled out . . . a neat white chain of daisies.  
  
"Hewe!" she exclaimed, happily tossing it over the head of the still- shocked Rei. "'S ma best 'un. I want oo ta have it awways!"  
  
"Well mistress," the Change of Heart said in mock disappointment, and jest reluctance "it is time for you to take your leave, as of now . . . "  
  
"Come back soown!" Rinnie crowed, now waving energetically. The blonde- balanced-one took her arm gently, and steered her a few feet away.  
  
"B-but I don't know how to get back!" Rei cried in an automatic reaction to please the hope that shined in Rinnie's eyes.  
  
"You know." The spirit assured, muttering an archaic incantation over her mistress. "And by the way, look in your pocket."  
  
The shapeless shadows became a solid mist before her, and the attempts of stilling that wondrous magic by an outstretched arm, were all in vain. Soon, all that was left of Rinnie and the Change of Heart, was darkness.  
  
So she opened her eyes.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
And found herself sprawled awkwardly on the floor of Mai's guest bedroom. Needless to say, it took a vital moment to reorient herself enough to realize consciousness, and she placed her hand on her forehead in thought.  
  
/Look in my pocket?/  
  
The neatly folded khaki pants received an inquisitive glare from the girl. She assumed they were indeed the topic the spirit had intended, but what on earth did she mean by that? Some weird thing to take over the world or something, ha, but then again, Rei knew she shouldn't doubt that misguided card.  
  
"What a messed-up goodbye." She grumbled, straightening upright. Still, it wasn't as if she remotely wanted to anger or disappoint an immoral spirit (that had a knack of sticking her nose into other people's business), who could mold anything she pleased and create her own unique reality.  
  
Rei felt that irritating feeling of her long hair drying before it was brushed, but she managed to ignore it for the most part as she stared at the pants a few feet away. Her face set in quiet (and as previously mentioned), irritated determination before she pushed herself up with water- wrinkled hands.  
  
She crawled over the floor, not without the not-so-minor hassle of the fact that skirts were not specifically designed to be crawled upon, but she managed her purpose, however clumsy. Rei had a strange recollection from the position she now found herself in when she plopped down; one of many ideals of "the little mermaid".  
  
The normally plain and inanimate, now lay ominously. She conveniently recalled now that the Change of Heart was not one to kid, and this most- likely was not just a trivial pursuit.  
  
Rei tested the weight in her hand. A little heavier than usual, but not so much that it couldn't be dismissed as imaginary, and not so much that it was obviously there . . . well, whatever "it" was. She found the mystery strangely intimidating.  
  
The careless creases seemed so plentiful as she bent them back. Almost as if . . . /What is it that something doesn't want me to see?/ She finally shoved her hand down the second pocket, to grip around something oddly comfortable in her hand. It was cold and spherical; and nothing that she could come up with seemed to fit that distinctive feel.  
  
/Enough, I'm prolonging this unnecessary tension enough as it is!/ So she withdrew her spidery hand, turning it over carefully to see.  
  
And her heart nearly stopped dead.  
  
It was shocking. Unbelievable, and yet she thought nothing of power, nothing of those possibilities. Only of  
  
/ . . . H-he was the one who did it. How could he, how could someone be so heartless!  
  
/ . . . How could I be so heartless . . . /  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Okay peeps, if you can guess correctly of what happened to be in her pocket, then I'll share some of my super-nummy pocky! Thankies Miss Bronze Eagle, chocolate all the way! *munch*  
  
Well, the cliffy seemed appropriate, considering that this is a much longer chapter than I have written in the past (for this story anyway), and I skipped an update for my FF9 fic, just so I could please you guys!  
  
So many reviews *head spinning* . . . it may not seem like much in comparison to other YGO fics, but it's more than I've had on any fic, for any chapter! Thank you very much so!  
  
Birthday was great . . . and I got the second DVD of Love Hina *cackles* which also brings up another point:  
  
PLEASE TELL ME IF I SHOULD DO AN AU, YGO FIC IN THE STYLE OF LOVE HINA!  
  
Even if you've never seen the show . . . I've gotta know! Here, this is like a 5 minute, and extremely bad summary of what it may be like:  
  
  
  
Yugi Muto was a first class loser, who's failed the entrance exams for Tokyo U a whopping three times. All because of a promise he made fifteen years ago, to the only girlfriend he had in his life (and whose name he can't remember ^^). But when his freaky grandmother ((AN - it'll be the equivalent of Yugi's grandpa in YGO)) hits a midlife crisis, she leaves him in charge of her house . . . which she had recently converted into a girls dorm . . . needless to say, the residents of the Turtle Apartments are not amused . . .  
  
  
  
It'll be shortened eventually, but would anyone be interested in reading a story like that? TELL ME IN A REVIEW OR E-MAIL PLEASE.  
  
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN REACH 40 THIS TIME AROUND!  
  
Hope you guys are having a wonderful day, and remember, life is entirely too short to waste unhappy!  
  
Toodles.  
  
giggleplex  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Hopefully I'll relieve your cliffy-it is soon, but I'm not making any promises since it's almost the end of the semester. 


	9. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! Err, question

Alright, my beloved readers.  
  
I have two questions, which I trust you people as being qualified to answer. My opinions seem to be skewed (I really need to take a nap), and besides, I don't mind one way or another, because I love working on this fic.  
  
The first may seem a bit confusing, but it will come into play VERY soon:  
  
  
  
Boxter (Porche), or Corvette?  
  
  
  
The other is:  
  
  
  
Mai and Rei are probably going shopping fairly soon, but should I include that in the text? I mean every fic similar to this has a shopping scene, and though they are fun, it's just a tad bit cliché I think. That'll be one fewer chapter, but omitting it will bring us even closer to the adventures our favorite bishies/much-too-pretty-girls, and ultimately, the ending. If I take it out, I will be hinting to some of the events I was thinking about . . . but there was one I just couldn't do:  
  
Bakura meeting Mai's new "cousin".  
  
I can figure something out, but it probably won't be quite as dramatic. Tell me your opinions!  
  
  
  
Just give me the answers to both of my questions in either a review, or e- mail (see my bio)!  
  
Toodles.  
  
giggleplex 


	10. Girl Talk

Mai was worried.  
  
O. My. God. *breathing heavily*  
  
I have . . . 45 REVIEWS! THAT'S LIKE, 5 WHOLE REVIEWS FOR EACH CHAPTER!  
  
*wipes tear* You guys sure no how to please an authoress, really. I feel ridiculously honored, so the least I can do is this:  
  
- Imagine the most wonderful thing anyone has ever told you.  
  
- Multiply that feeling, a MILLION times.  
  
- and you have the feeling I wish to return to you ^^  
  
thanksthanksthanks *jumps up and down*  
  
Also, NOTE:  
  
Okies, peeps, I STILL have my little poll going on here, so VOTE NOW, in a review or e-mail. I want a feeeeeeew more perspectives before I write the next chapter (check out chapter 9 for more details)  
  
Thank you for reading, guys. You are so totally awesome!  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
How could she not be, after rushing up here to the echo of Rei's choking cry, and finding the girl sitting and staring blandly at nothing in particular, with those tragically shadowed eyes? Her hair looked as bad as a broken bird's nest, so she offered to brush it out. She answered in a hollow 'yes'.  
  
Mai was worried.  
  
Even in the midst of the most stubborn of tangles, there was no further response from the girl in front of her. Ryou . . . no wait, ~Rei~ (she forced a mental reminder to not be so careless when Rei's mental state was so precarious) was still greatly resembling Yugi after his so-called "Yami" almost killed Seto Kaiba at Duelist Kingdom. Yeah, keyword: ALMOST, but still devastating. Shown in that deep and curious state of mental confusion.  
  
Just like Yugi . . .  
  
/Wait a second, I might be on to something here!/ she let the long mane rest in her slackened grip as she scratched her cheek with a long purple nail, and furrowed her finely tweezed brows.  
  
So let's see . . . Yugi and Ryou Bakura . . . didn't Ryou have one of those freaky "Yamis" as well? Malik supposedly had one too, but he was SERIOUSLY nutso, and probably couldn't help in this situation. In fact, most of all their little escapades included the Yamis in some form or another, with Ryou probably mentioning a great deal more wrong with his, then Yugi ever admitted.  
  
Rei said that she had run away that night, but failed to mention precisely what she ran ~from~. She was already a bit (talk about the understatement of the century . . . ) agitated when she showed up that morning, so this was a heightened version of her fear from before. /At least it's kinda easy to figure out what evidence we already have./ detective Mai thought as she shifted her stocking feet under her.  
  
Yugi was lost like this, from what his posse had said, when his Yami almost killed, and being a pure Hikari soul, he couldn't handle that burden upon his fragile conscience.  
  
"Hmph. Pure my butt." She muttered to herself, picking up the brush again, and slowly bringing it through that chaotic furball. She knew there was something seriously outta wack with that whole pure business. A supposed Hikari would NEVER be able to exist in such a corrupted world, it was impossible. The world in some ways was much better than it ~was~, sure, but certainly not better enough.  
  
But if that had anything to do with the dilemma of the poor soul seated on the four-poster bed, then Mai was getting psyched and determined into corrupting Rei enough to handle society.  
  
It honestly would have seemed funny, if the situation hadn't presented itself so ~seriously~.  
  
Still, Mai was worried! Her suspicions were justified well enough to at least change ~something~, and by any god that ever existed out there, she was going to act!  
  
/Another gal in need, is a friend indeed!/  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
~*SMACK*~  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The sharp pain on the side of her face brought her clear out of . . . wherever she was, and brought her into eye-lash fluttering confusion.  
  
"Wha--"  
  
"Ha! I knew it! Well, sorta . . . " a voice cried out triumphantly sending her flying into the air with a distinct "yelp" of startle-ment. Rei whirled around in a disbelieving accusation at the smirking Mai. The girls smirk faded into a kind smile, as that bit of fulfillment wore off.  
  
"You told me to brush your hair." She stated, motioning a bit with the brush. Little tendrils glittered as it moved it's position.  
  
She squinted with a puzzled frown, not bothering to point out that slapping wasn't even considered in her definition of brushing hair. "W-what? I didn't say that!" Rei understood that it was impossible for her to explain the position in time and space, nor the journey in how she got there, so her brief denial seemed feeble, even to herself.  
  
Mai sighed and stood on the floor from her cross-legged position, not even bothering to express her doubts verbally. The concerned look on her face was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable, and that discomfort was considerably swelled when Rei realized she couldn't even remember the last thought she ~did~ remember. Only the cold desolation of dense sorrow.  
  
"Why don't you just tell me?" Mai asked softly, assurance projected through her large eyes.  
  
"Tell you what?" she asked nervously. /What is there really to tell?/  
  
"About your Yami."  
  
Ice.  
  
Ice. That's just what her stomach felt like; cold and heavy.  
  
Surely, ~surely~ she hadn't heard correctly. Yes, and besides, he was never RYOU'S Yami. Oh no, he was even addressed improperly! "Your master", or even better "the one who owns you" would have been much more appropriate . . .  
  
And with the barrage of painful reminders that also followed, Rei was willingly drowning in an incomprehensible fear. But a rather ranting, if not cocky voice pulled her out by the scruff of the neck:  
  
"I just ~know~ that this all has something to do with your Yami, you've got that same blank look on your face. The same blank look that Yugi had . . . "  
  
/Yugi./ Rei breathed in quickly, now feeling a curious sensation as if a tight hand was clenched around her stomach. She hunched over a bit, further strengthening the feeling.  
  
" . . . And--hey! Yoohoo!" Mai frantically waved her arm in front of her.  
  
The girl gave a little tremble to prove she was listening now.  
  
"Sorry . . . " she began.  
  
"No apologizing." Mai reminded her firmly. "Just tell me what's wrong, and ~we'll~ get over it."  
  
Rei's bottom lip trembled slightly, missing the peculiar addition that Mai had, well, ~added~ to her statement. The gist of it seemed to get to her, however, and the very first thing that came to mind in it's path did not reflect a promising future:  
  
/Everything's wrong!/  
  
"I can't tell you, Mai." She said through gritted teeth. "I would jeopardize . . . so much. ~Too~ much." /You would hate me. I'm not going to spawn any sort of painful hate./  
  
Mai pursed her lips.  
  
"The only thing you can jeopardize here, is myself, in some way, I guess." She replied flatly. "Have you stolen the heart of my destined love?"  
  
"Umm, no." Rei said, unsure of where she was heading with this.  
  
"Then trust me, you have ~nothing~ to worry about!"  
  
She only stayed silent, rubbing a bit of her skirt fabric in between her thumb and pointer distractedly.  
  
"Look. If it makes you feel any better, I promise not to let anything you say, ever leave this room, got it?" Mai, though always flamboyant, was well known to NEVER betray a secret. Not even Tea's not-so-little crush on both Yugi and Yami, however tempting it seemed. Sensing the tension in her slowly shaking head and pained facial expression, she ended her mini-speech with one of the most heartfelt things she could come up with:  
  
"It's better to share your discomfort with someone else." It came out quite awkward to Mai's usual style of dialect. /Oh great, now that sure sounded smooth. Real good Mai, real good . . . /  
  
But after another pregnant pause:  
  
"P-prom-ise?" Rei asked meekly, looking down at her crossed legs.  
  
"I already said--"  
  
"Promise?!"  
  
Mai threw a quizzical glance.  
  
"I . . . promise."  
  
She leapt off the bed slowly and deliberately, giving off a strange impression of great age and weariness as she stepped to the dresser. The girl behind her could only wonder when she snatched something up off the polished surface. Her eyes were tightly clamped shut as if she were having many second doubts, and she turned, holding an almost impossible amount of tension along with whatever inanimate thing happened to be in her fist.  
  
It certainly didn't seem intimidating, so far.  
  
Rei gulped down excess air. Not one of those comical impersonations, no, this was a real one. One that made all who listened, immediately sharing a fraction of the discomfort previously expressed. Quiet, but the grief was clear nonetheless. The same grief that had haunted her since . . . well, she couldn't remember the last time when it didn't haunt her.  
  
Guilt.  
  
It was common and old now. ~Ordinary~. Though still so painful.  
  
She held out her trembling hand with a held breath.  
  
Silence. Then . . .  
  
"I know that thing!" Mai suddenly exclaimed. "That creep Pegasus had it for an eye!"  
  
"Do you . . . do you know what happened to Pegasus?" she was trying to remain as calm as possible, but it was a futile attempt, she knew.  
  
"Naw." She looked behind her in recollecting thought "No one does. He shut himself out from society, ever since--"  
  
"Duelist Kingdom." Her eyes were wide in an attempt of explanation. "Ever since the eye was stolen! 'Shut himself out from society' . . . he's dead, Mai. Millenium item holders either go depressively insane, or die once their items are taken without their consent."  
  
Mai stared, speechless at the raw bluntness.  
  
"S-so, why would you have it?" Mai ventured, shifting a bit.  
  
Rei allowed the bedpost to relieve some of her weight, as she stared at the ceiling with impassive eyes, but trembling lips. "I found it in my pocket."  
  
"Why in your pocket?" Mai asked slowly, and dileberately.  
  
She breathed deeply.  
  
"Because, he was the one who killed him. He is me . . . I killed Pegasus. I never knew, but," she looked down at her hands "my hands were the ones who destroyed his sense of being."  
  
"No!" Mai yelled, standing up herself "That wasn't you, your Yami did!"  
  
"~My Yami is me~" she repeated to her.  
  
"~No he's not!~" she pressed on "Just regretting it, something that you CAN'T regret, because you didn't even do it, shows anyone that it wasn't you. Don't you ~ever~ blame yourself.  
  
"We are going to forget this shit and move on, Rei. We are going to go shopping, and ~god-dammit~, we are going to have a good time living our lives!"  
  
She was now the one who was staring. How could she just say to 'forget it', like that? This was the most unforgivable crime, and yet . . .  
  
. . . She was being forgiven.  
  
"Hold on a sec, let me go get some make-up, and we'll be off." Mai gave her a saucy wink (that might have been hiding a tremble), before bounding off into the hallway.  
  
Rei said nothing. It was so confusing in comparison to emotional values, but now she realized all of those definitions were utterly impractical. Mai was right.  
  
Even if it seemed difficult to accept.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Woohoo, another one DONE. Tell me what you think!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
. . . and don't forget to VOTE (chapter 9, okay?) 


	11. Mai's Favorite Pastime ::END VERSE ONE::

Well peeps, here you have it:  
  
The . . . *drumroll* SHOPPING SCENE *with obvious confetti and much celebrating*  
  
OH YEAH! Please note: I'll be writing responses to your reviews, in a review, about 3 days after posting a chapter. Hopefully, I will sound a bit more, well, "down to earth" with you all *pulls out clipboard* Alright, time for a psychiatric exam . . .  
  
o.O  
  
Bitter? Naw . . . but I am serious about the "reader responses" thing. You guys are totally worth it!  
  
So, please enjoy!  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
It was an ominous sight that greeted her gaze by the time she looked up. Large and brick, with model-like teenage girls practically skipping with delight, as their boyfriends held their faces low, trying to imagine themselves anywhere but there.  
  
Rei wondered how it became so crowded, so early on a Sunday morning.  
  
It wasn't precisely ~early~; Mai had spent hours finishing Rei's new hairdo and oily make-up (or so it seemed), but ten-o-clock was not exactly a comfortable or even acceptable time to be out. On summer vacation. On a Sunday.  
  
She sighed into the light breeze flowing through the window, 'survival of the fittest' she supposed.  
  
Mai smoothly parked in a convenient and freshly painted spot in front of one of the massive department stores, the keys jingling a merry tune to compliment the same one that Mai had been humming lately. She looked over to the girl in the passenger's seat with a confidently reassuring look.  
  
"Ready?" she asked breathlessly.  
  
/How could she be so excited to go to a place like this?/ Rei wondered, but betrayed nothing in her nervous appearance /I hate malls./  
  
"I suppose . . . " she replied in a strained voice, which Mai aptly ignored. Immediately, the blonde opened an exited the door of her beloved Corvette, making sure the metallic purple paint flashed beautifully in the sunlight.  
  
Her chosen mode of transportation was truly a sight to behold, as even Rei, who knew absolutely ~nothing~ about cars, observed its beauty breathlessly. Before she saw this one, she would have thought of Corvettes being profoundly masculine, with a player in the front seat, and two bleach- blondes in the passenger's seat.  
  
But this one was so feminine; it would be easy to pick the driver out of a crowd.  
  
The curves, the sleek form, and most of all the COLOR, were very feminine in this case, and very 'Mai'.  
  
Speaking of which, the proud owner flicked a speck of dust off of her violet corset before turning to the now obviously unenthusiastic girl with a stern look.  
  
"Come on Rei."  
  
So, they set off to the chosen haunt and haven, of girls just like the one Rei appeared as.  
  
Mai had chosen a lacy handbag to compliment her appearance, which was already attracting looks from nearby males. Each step of hers swung to a familiar rhythm, with her rounded hips swaying smoothly from foot to foot. She flicked a few curls back to expose faintly lined eyes, and spoke to the girl next to her calmly, with a strategic level of authority to prevent any second thoughts.  
  
"We'll have to move fast; the school year starts in a week, and we need to pick out a suitable wardrobe for you, ASAP."  
  
"S-school?" Rei's mouth twisted nervously, as she clasped her hands behind her to prevent fiddling with them. It was an awkward position to walk in, but at that moment, she couldn't have cared less.  
  
"Yes ~school~. I need help with my homework, you know?!" she said this with a joking smile, and though the other girl would have normally been even more uncomfortable with an open joke, she was already getting used to relaxing at that voice. It was more natural than the sarcastic jokes she was normally used to.  
  
Rei quickly came up with another type of response, covering up what now seemed like ridiculous point. /Cooping up won't solve my problems./, she was just thankful that Mai had realized this before she did.  
  
"Aren't you going to Domino High?" she questioned "You . . . we have to wear uniforms."  
  
Her shopping companion gave a very unlady-like snort.  
  
"Free dress on Fridays, Rei."  
  
She mentally smacked herself; how could she forget that girls take that day, MUCH more seriously than guys? "So--ah, bloody--"  
  
Mai's high laugh drowned out her curse, and the fact that they were both astonished the pained girl would dare to use it.  
  
Rei recovered quickly as she humorously shook her head while saying: "Well anyway, why are we so early here?"  
  
It was a question that had been bugging her for some time now. Mai smiled mysteriously.  
  
"Survival of the fittest."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Indoors, it was actually quiet. Strangely quiet. So quiet, it was scary.  
  
"Alright, shoes first!" Mai stated enthusiastically "I doubt anything is open yet anyway, but shoes are a must, too."  
  
Shoes. Rei felt her gaze trail down to Ryou's worn leather loafers, which looked especially out of place considering her outfit. Ryou rarely shopped at the mall if he could help it, and Mai seemed quite familiar with the place, so it didn't take long before she found herself following her with long mellow strides.  
  
The oily smell of leather could be distinctively smelled about one hundred feet away, and made Rei's stomach turn with something unrecognizable.  
  
"Why are you so quiet, anyway?" Mai asked thoughtfully, and adjusting the strap of her seemingly glamorous purse as she turned toward her.  
  
Rei shrugged "Is there really that much to talk about?"  
  
"That's not the point. Any girl your age should be the ~mistress~ of starting conversations without anything to talk about. Silence is ~way~ too awkward." She sounded like she was giving a lecture in some twisted class about social habits, then she gave a silent snort of amusement "Let's try this for example:  
  
"So Rei, what is your favorite type of juice?"  
  
Somehow, she felt obliged to reply "Cranberry juice, it's much more tangy than other types."  
  
"Ick! Too sour for me. But one time I had this carbonated grapefruit stuff, and it was really great. I sometimes have these weird cravings in the middle of the night." She went on, and for some reason, it just seemed ~natural~ to say  
  
"I think I've had that stuff! Father and I used to get it back before," Rei made a pathetic choking sound, /why is it that everything I say, I seem to somehow connect it to . . . /  
  
"Well anyway," Mai swiftly pounced onto the case before she had much of a chance to wade in her emotional burdens "not bad. But we'll need to work on it."  
  
They continued to walk.  
  
"Umm, Rei? Do you mind if I ask something, ah, personal?" ~she~ seemed rather uncomfortable, but no matter how hard she tried to imagine, Rei couldn't figure out anything that would be more uncomfortably 'personal' than the murder. Ryou never had much of a social life.  
  
"Not really." She was still worried though.  
  
"Were you--was Ryou . . . well . . . ~gay~?"  
  
Her stomach could have spilled onto that beige tile floor, and she wouldn't have been surprised. " . . . a . . . "  
  
Mai bit her lip, and averted her eyes as they stopped walking at a reasonable distance from the shoe store. "It's just that, well, you're really too good-looking to avoid the guys like that and--"  
  
"I'm . . . not really sure." Her face turned a million shades of red in that pregnant pause, but thankfully, no one walking by seemed to notice. "I never loved anyone like that . . . "  
  
"Well, that's good enough for me!" Mai said quickly with a jaunty jolt of her head, and grabbed the girl's elbow to steer her into the shoe store.  
  
Rei turned confused. /Why do I have the feeling that she's more uncomfortable about this than I am?/  
  
"Mai? How about you?" with a guilty smirk, she felt it was only fair to ask the same question back at her. /I mean, she DOES seem to really hate guys to an unhealthy degree . . . /  
  
However, she gave only a fortunately relieved sigh, turning back with wide eyes "No, ~unfortunately~, guys are still the ones that make my knees wobble. Sad, huh?"  
  
Rei pondered her answer carefully, trying her hardest to sound as comforting as Mai had sounded to her, in the past.  
  
"We'll see," she smiled, finding the look on Mai's face quite humorous "I might have inherited the hormones along with the body."  
  
The blonde slapped her forehead. "How come I never noticed you could be so sarcastic?!"  
  
The two of them laughed at a degree of understanding, and entered the snobby-looking shop with corresponding strides.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Only FOUR, BOLDED AND GRUELING HOURS LATER, and Rei was already a little weary. Please note her condition with extreme sarcasm.  
  
The heavy bags whose handles were folded over, dug into her palms and lower fingers; a ridiculously demand of 'SHOP YOU FOOL!!! DON'T STOP, BECAUSE IT'S YOUR FAULT YOU FEEL THE SLIGHT PAIN OF SHOPPING!!!'. /Oh great,/ she thought hopelessly, /even my mind is against me. That can't be healthy./  
  
She tried shifting the weight of four packed bags, but exposing the angry red skin only made her grimace with more pain. The soles of her new lace-up 'Doc Marten' boots (Mai had insisted!) seemed to smash her heel unmercifully, which was saying something since they were some of the most comfortable shoes she had ever worn.  
  
It was now a matter of trailing behind Mai in the crowded walkways of 'heaven'. If Rei hadn't of known that the things she was carrying were indeed ~her's~, she would have suspected of turning into a frightened packhorse, because that was precisely how she felt. Conversation was basic and sparse because of the sheer noise that surrounded them in a cloud of animated socializing, not that Rei wanted to risk any distraction from her high-matinance bags.  
  
The girl before her slowed her pace a hesitation, rubbing an ominous glaze to Rei's guess. Her mouth moved deliberately, but she couldn't make out just ~what~ deliberation that may be, so she followed regardless. Not like she had much of a choice anyway.  
  
A seemingly fruitless chase/dance led Rei passed such a contrast of people, it made her head spin.  
  
Then she noticed the obvious destination. Not that it was hard, considering the two shops on either side were only ((AN - I know what you're thinking . . . "only'?!)) a Suncoast, and a musty-smelling comic shop. Oh the irony, if only Rei had noticed it before she felt the most obvious reaction to the store they were walking up to.  
  
"NO WAY!!!"  
  
Mai pursed her lips back towards the flushing girl. "You're being immature about this you know . . . " The gal in violet absolutely ~hated~ the types of startled looks they were attracting right now, further accelerating her annoyance at humankind in general. "Don't tell me you're already getting immature about this!"  
  
Rei's (now shortened to avoid strange 'you look like this guy I used to know' questions) hair fluttered in distress, as she shook her head vigorously.  
  
"Mai. No way, this is TOO much!" her voice came out in a pathetic plea, and Mai only shook her head.  
  
"It's not that bad you know." She attempted to take her hand, but found her slipping out of the grip like a frightened kitten, as Rei's face reflected a state of pure terror at the prissy cream columns on either side of the entrance, and the seemingly intimidating fiery-pink carpeting. She tried at her hand again "C'mon Rei, this is important!"  
  
The girl didn't answer, only stared ahead; terrified.  
  
So Mai took the obvious initiative, by pushing her unmercifully . . .  
  
. . . Into the pink depths of Victoria's Secret.  
  
Fortunately, one of the blonde and smiling ladies picked her up from there.  
  
"So, have you ever shopped at VICTORIA'S SECRET," Rei was certain she stressed that line as much as possible "before?"  
  
The perkiness was sickening, so to avoid possible retching opportunities, she shook her head slowly and deliberately.  
  
"Well, let's get to the measuring then!"  
  
Rei surveyed her for a moment.  
  
"May I ask just ~what~ we're measuring?" she asked, doggedly.  
  
Mai groaned from behind her.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Finally, food!" Mai sighed as she relaxed blissfully to the norm of the mall's cafeteria.  
  
Rei didn't reply, for at 2:30 PM, even the greasy-grilling of McDonald's seemed tempting. Now that she thought of it, it had been about a day since she had eaten last and that one instance yesterday could have ~hardly~ been considered a meal.  
  
"Chinese?" she ventured to Miss Moneybags over there, as her eyes rested on those disgustingly scrumptious egg rolls laid out in front.  
  
"Yum." Automatically, she briskly strode toward the sparse line, and guess what? Added her esteemed presence to it. Their gazes both averted from the food; the lady in front of them seemed to be speaking in Spanish, and the pimply teen over the counter didn't seem to have much luck in decoding the extravagant hand motions, and rolling tongue.  
  
The snowy haired one found this place oddly comforting, as weary girls bobbed their pony-tails and curls as they spoke happily to their companions, and settled their stances for a bite to eat. Rather un- extraordinary, but it was much easier to settle in at a place where no one was looking out for, well, looks.  
  
Mai however, was rather bored. Her stomach was grumbling in discontent, which was hard enough to stifle.  
  
Nothing special really came to this break, until a simple glimpse had Mai gawking.  
  
The white shade among blacks, oranges and browns would have been startling normally, but Rei was right where she thought she was; standing idly and tracing sights with her finger.  
  
When she saw it again, the hardened eyes accenting the exotic look, it was almost too ironically horrid luck to be true.  
  
"Shit," her eyes widened in remembrance, and instinct had her roughly shoving the spacey girl beside her into an overweight crowd of McDonald's junkies.  
  
"Hey--" Rei protested, but her voice was muffled quickly in the stubborn consumers.  
  
Mai stomped up, determined to waver this ridiculousness as much as possible. How ~dare~ he show up here . . . bastard . . .  
  
She yelled that out to him, and bless her luck, he actually got it. Looking almost impassively, and strangely young-like he turned with his lips slightly parted and wide eyes.  
  
"You . . . I know you, h-have you seen Ryou?" his lip was trembling. Hah. Like ~Mai~ was going to fall for that kind of 'innocent' game.  
  
"And now ~why~ should I answer that?" her eyebrows were raised dangerously high into her hair.  
  
"Please!" he sounded almost frantic now "I must . . . I can't find him!"  
  
Rei's ears perked up at the muffle of the raised voice nearby, sensing the disturbance to be of importance. She paled thinking /Oh dear, I hope Mai hasn't gotten into any trouble./ Her arms waved in a just of making room for herself to get by, but she somehow only found herself up at the counter.  
  
"Welcome to McDonald's, may I take your order?" the faceless voice droned, unpleasantly ignoring her attempts to get out of the way.  
  
"You hear 'im, girl!" another voice boomed "Ansaw!"  
  
Her eyes narrowed, gaining a convenient amount of learned cockiness "Just. Get. Out of the way!"  
  
Mai placed a hand on her hip menacingly "Why?! So you can abuse his presence like you always did?!" she threw her arms up into the air "You don't even know ~anything~ about the kid!"  
  
"Actually, I do." He hissed back, finally letting that uncontrollable pride obscure the way.  
  
That was the first line Rei heard, once she found her way out of the crowd.  
  
She stared.  
  
Mai replied "Yeah, sure. You just want him back because, even though you can't admit it, you can't do jack without him there cleaning up your shirt.  
  
Rei stared. Yami Bakura turned to look at this curious onlooker, instinctively reaching into her mind for an answer to her odd behavior . . .  
  
. . . Only to be bounced back out, neatly in a mental heap. He was profoundly shocked that a normal human could create such reliable shields. /Something must be protecting her, but why? Who is this?!/  
  
"Who are you?" his voice echoed softly. He cursed under his breath, that stupid Ryou must have been rubbing off on him. A jolt ran through his body. /No! He's not 'stupid, he's wonderful . . . /  
  
Wonderful.  
  
The girl did not shift, the girl did not falter. Her mouth twisted into a hardened line, and she spoke clearly and coolly:  
  
"I'm Rei." She looked to Mai "I'm here with her. Get out of my way, or I'm going to ~make you~."  
  
And before he had a chance to respond, she, and a startled Mai bumped past him rudely.  
  
He stared after her.  
  
/Yes, but who is protecting her? A strong mage he must be . . . /  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Far, far away, but closer now than it seemed, a little girl giggled at the projected image in front of her.  
  
"Not 'he' silly," Rinnie of the Sanctuary giggled "'she'.  
  
"Me!"  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
That turned out reasonably well! *applauds herself* The ending was a sort of spur-of-moment sort of thing, that will change this sloooooooooow plot, drastically. Ah yes, in the exact word of many-an-author . . .  
  
. . . the plot thickens ^^  
  
Teehee, hope you enjoyed your SHOPPING SCENE, which as a matter of fact, was amusing to write. But if you liked this, heh heh, wait until I describe her clothes!  
  
^____________________________________________________________^  
  
. . . Now, did that look evil/creepy, or what?  
  
Hope you find time to review . . . *sniffle* can we shoot for . . . 56 reviews this time?  
  
Toodles.  
  
giggleplex  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
IMPORTANT!!!!!!! 56 REVIEWS, AND I POST OUT A NEW CHAPTER! REVIEW!!! 


	12. VERSE TWO:: Preparation

DISCLAIMER - Kuja: *whines* Do I HAFTOO!  
  
Yup.  
  
Kuja: *with un-ignorable puppy-dog-eyes* Don't sue the poor. Innocent . . .  
  
Riku:*coughs loudly*  
  
Kuja: . . . giggleplex. She understands that she owns nothing, so go bother the frickid fanartists! *sticks out tongue*  
  
  
  
YAY! I'm back to this lovely authoress heaven. *sigh* I know I don't get as many reviews as other people, but I savor each and every one with an insane giggle (tm)  
  
I have faithfully submitted a review in response FOR ALL OF YOU WHO REVIEWED LAST TIME, so check out my review page if you did! I wrote about a paragraph to each of you, and had SO much fun at it, that I'll do it ~again~ in 3 days. ^^  
  
Happy reading!  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
The joyous robins delicately nibbled on the dewy grass, probably a rather sour taste, but they did need to eat after all. While ignoring the imaginings pertaining toward what they were actually doing, it could be seen as a rather picturesque scene, as the unkempt garden was resembling something out of a colossal storybook, so mysterious it ~had~ to be magical.  
  
It was a scene only betraying the vicious tempers that would surely arise too soon. However, just like the robins and though he was never one to take the initiative in these sort of situations, it really needed to be done. If not, a more drastic and conscience-shattering action would be forced to take place.  
  
So, the Egyptian on the brick path didn't really care. Hell, he had done so many more gut-wrenching actions back when he was truly alive, that this could hardly hurt his emotions, right? He forced his steps to remain coldly echoing distantly as the pace was firm and determined along the wobbling brick path. Life in a more "unforgiving" time taught him urgently how to guise any sort of second thoughts, or the unsure ones.  
  
The sun was surely a jest of it's true power, shimmering and running through his tanned and scared fingers as if attempting to tickle the face of an emotionless statue. Kaiba, from the sounds of things, used to be like that. The Yami standing upon the brick path was still in that abandoning sense of life, so he didn't think much of it; that only led him to self- pity, which was both less than honorable and always meaningless. It was so weak when you sincerely wished life could look just as simplistic as in the eyes of the innocently pleased ones.  
  
He ignored the beginnings of useless thoughts, and gazed half-heartedly at the worn and disguised name plate off to the side of the double garage doors. They were easy to miss; unpolished, scratched and drowning pathetically in the stifling ivy that was in desperate need of a trim. Whoever owned this imposingly bizarre house needed to care for it, but the snobby, long-nosed neighbors who cared for that fact the greatest, knew not the one who should be charged with the task, for the family seemed to travel to exotic destinations a great deal, and the curiously white-haired teen who used to silently trim the hedges never attempted to meet any of his wonderful neighbors.  
  
The teen had not been seen for nearly a month.  
  
But those same, ~wonderful~ neighbors were only concerned for that ~hideous~ garden, as it was a great shame for such a respectable neighborhood to shelter something so . . . wild and uncontrollable. Though how could they blame anyone besides 'the careless neighbors', when the name plate was so hidden in carelessness? Only a 'Ba', and a 'u' could be seen within the cascades of ivy.  
  
Marik, Malik, Ishtal . . . Yami . . . he had been called many names to confuse unwanted pursuers and the not-so-little event of losing much of his memory, but whoever he was, happened to be attracting a great deal of odd looks. He sighed, with a slight tingle of venom tipping his tongue. No matter how utterly ordinary he tried to seem, their pointy glares poked and prodded the tiny hairs on the back of his neck like a persistent insect.  
  
He should of known that it would be hard to blend in when he was wearing his Hikari's jewelry. Not like he had a choice or anything, he wasn't even supposed to ~be~ here, but for the love of Ra . . . //Do any of these fools know the meaning of courtesy?//  
  
Keeping his nasty temper in check (so as not to blast them to a place where their rude behavior would not be taken quite so lightly), a simple flexing of the invisible power fantasizing humans now called 'magic', gave them a mental nudge away.  
  
He now understood that they were not very concerned for the family in the hideous-house very much, because their attention was much too easy to deflect. It was really amazing how careless they were, and the alter-ego was beginning to get angry at their stupid values once he snatched a snippet of one of their thoughts:  
  
/Overgrown . . . senseless weirdoes . . . /  
  
That man was really taking advantage of the situation, where a garden actually had the opportunity to 'overgrow'. It was quite pleasant actually, so how could that idiot NOT enjoy something that actually looked natural here?  
  
How could any of them dislike the Bakuras anyway? What did the Bakuras ever do to them? They only took the pain themselves, young Ryou probably ~saved~ them from an uncertain, but certainly unfavorable fate.  
  
Yami Malik was angry, and it was not good when Yami Mailik became angry.  
  
So, he shifted his conscious emotions into a brooding mode.  
  
//These stupid mortals do not even have an ~idea~ of what hole they're digging themselves into . . . //  
  
There was a large pile of newspapers under the dark overhang, with a small envelope distanced from the crowd of beige-faded paper. He snatched it up to his reliable eyesight, and gazed at the handwritten label under furrowed brows.  
  
'Egypt'?! This was from Egypt?!  
  
Without any further thought, he gently ripped open the faded envelope, with the recollection of a few well-placed memories of his Hikari. It was old, so though he knew the one who he was looking for was certainly encased within the darkened house wouldn't ever care, and he read it without guilt. He was always guilty for one thing or another, surprisingly enough, but not for this.  
  
It was typed with a trembling machine, and dizzying to follow.  
  
  
  
Dear Bakuras As you know, the remains of Professor (first name unknown) Bakura, have been retrieved from the (unnamed) tomb of Giza. Please return letter with enclosed check if a traditional burial is requested. We must receive the payment on enclosed bill, or the body will be disposed of.  
  
Again, we stress you send in the payment by the date of August 27th.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
((AN - let's just pretend that the name here is someone who would actually send a note like this))  
  
  
  
Yami Malik swore.  
  
Today was September 5th.  
  
He threw the letter into the wooden doors, who betrayed nothing with their depressing appearance. For the first time in the Yami's existence, well at least the first time in a ~very~ long time, he was beginning to feel pity. For someone besides himself . . . and the partner he used to understand so well.  
  
Now, the task of healing seemed to look purposeful. Just whom to heal, and how, was an uncomfortable uncertainty . . .  
  
. . . That led him to rushing into the dusty house with sincere purpose.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"AGAIN Rei."  
  
The one addressed grimaced painfully as she tried to keep her mind off her feet. Respectable women were almost always seen in high-heels, but who ever knew these cursed abnormalities were SO DAMN UNCOMFORTABLE!  
  
Stupid really. Of course this thought was coming from a person who's rear- end and knees were throbbing in agony of tripping a few times, and landing on hard-wood floor.  
  
Mai was looking down at her with a vicious look of teaching. How could she look so composed when she wore those . . . ~things~ so often? How the heck did she do it?!  
  
But Rei didn't complain, because living in this kind of society was enough to make her understand that girls had a sort of second sense for these kinds of things. The past week was interesting for she was beginning to understand these sort of things, but it was a tough life living in 'Mai's boot-camp'.  
  
She bit her lip and picked herself up (WITHOUT jostling her skirt much, a mini-skirt no less thank-you-very-much), and amazingly walked across the floor cleanly and composed.  
  
Mai's face relaxed into a generous smile, as she clapped enthusiastically.  
  
"Yes! My dear, YOU are ready for the world!"  
  
Rei managed a shaky smile in response, for once agreeing with the comment.  
  
Tomorrow was the day when everything would come to test her again: the first day back at Domino High.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The two girls were sitting criss-cross-applesauce on Mai's luxurious violet bed, in their latest sets of pajama bottoms and random soft shirts, styling each other's hair purposefully, and discussing things Rei would never had guessed Ryou would ever talk about. Namely; mindless chick-flicks, music, and teen sitcoms. Right now, it was music.  
  
"Have you ever thought of what it must be like to play in a band?" Mai asked, staring up for it was her turn to become 'stylized'.  
  
"Not really," Rei admitted "but it's not like I can play an instrument!" she nudged the girl in front of her with good humor.  
  
The blonde smiled with no regret. "Even if I ~do~ play bass, I doubt they could handle my temper."  
  
"You don't give yourself enough credit."  
  
"Maybe." She tightened her lips into a straight line, and lowered her head just as Rei had instructed. A few well-placed bobby pins later, the masterpiece was done.  
  
"Okay, you can look now!"  
  
Mai pulled out a mirror to survey herself, and gasped. She looked positively ~elegant~. Rei already mistook it as a bad sign, and lowered her head, so the blonde made a point to give her all the recognition she deserved.  
  
"I can't BELIEVE you just came up with this so quickly! Can you do my hair tomorrow?!"  
  
"Seriously?" Rei asked, disbelieving and stationary.  
  
"Of course, you're better than I am at this stuff." It was a compliment that couldn't be taken lightly, and despite the seriousness in her tone, she just ~couldn't~ help but add a fake sniffle and an 'improved' line to an old Bruce Lee movie they had rented earlier "Ah, my young disciple has surpassed my expertise, I cannot believe this is happening to old wrinkly me!"  
  
Rei through a pillow at her, as she was faced (quite literally) with her own mouthful of cotton.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
*sneeze*  
  
I'm really sick right now, so don't get TOO used to this frequent update thing. You can, and as a matter of fact it is ENCOURAGED to enjoy it while it lasts.  
  
I was debating on whether or not to stop the chapter after Malik's time in the spotlight, but nothing really ~happened~, so I decided to just lengthen the chapter in general.  
  
HOPE YOU ENJOYED WHAT I HAD TO OFFER!!! I could never say this enough, but there isn't a better feeling in the world, than to know someone is happily reading a story you have had in your head. *starts bawling* You reviewers are the best!  
  
Since we actually made it to 63 reviews last chapter, why don't we turn it up a notch (someone slap me please, I'm quoting cooking shows OTHER than Iron Chef). Let's go for 63 this time!  
  
ThankyouthankyouthankyouSOMUCH!!! ^^ See you in 3 days (I'll write review responses)  
  
Toodaloo! *bounces as she sneezes again*  
  
giggleplex  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Please, 63 REVIEWS?! *bows* Domo arigato goziamasu . . . 


	13. Cute Crushes

SORRY sorry sorry, I'm SORRY for the wait. *bows* Gomen, gomen . . .  
  
Since I couldn't get to the responses earlier, I'll just leave them out here for the whole world to see. Just tell me if you don't want me to respond!  
  
Ri-chan: Thanks! ^^ You need not worry about me not continuing this, unless of course something catastrophic occurs, I think you're stuck with me. I'm glad you took the time to review, it was very kind of you.  
  
NeoStar: *gasps* OH DEAR!!! You poor thing, I'm so so sorry, but . . . oh geez, I hope you moved . . . that would totally SUCK. *changes subject* Worry not my friend! There's more . . . *grins* . . . ~much~ more.  
  
Rosz of the Angel: I didn't mind that your review was late, in fact, it makes me feel all the more jittery when they DO come! Just to know that someone took the time to look *wipes tear* Deprived of the net, huh? I don't know if I could handle that for FIVE days. You must have a very strong character indeed *nods wisely*  
  
Bronze Eagle: Hey again! Yup. "Rei-chan" has defidently changed for the better . . . as you can see in this particular chapter. Y Malik and Bakura should be coming up again soon, because they're really important. ^^ Gawd, I love being an authoress . . .  
  
Shenya: Yeah, me too . . . *drools* . . . frequent updates mean more reviews, right? Well, theoretically I suppose. *snorts* Geez, am I pathetic of what! Yami Malik's a . . . a peach for now!!! Teehee, oh, and one more thing; *faces Y Shenya, making devious gestures with hands* Ohohoho! You poor, poor sheltered child . . . *cackles* welcome to the world of the WIERDOS!  
  
(Kuja: *blows kazoo*)  
  
Sailor Comet: Yami Bakura . . . I'm sorry I didn't explain much on behalf of him before, but he is in a WEIRD emotional situation, that'll probably come up more clearly in the next chapter or two. As for your question; depends on if I'm going to write a sequel or not . . . yes, I am thinking about sequels! ^_~  
  
ShadowPheonix: Teehee, Malik's just like that, isn't he! ^^  
  
Sarina Fannel: (Why do I always want to spell Sarina, Serina?!) Thanks! You're so kewl! ^^  
  
Yami Krissy: I can just imagine a deep-voiced announcer saying just that . . . if only I had a creepy theme too . . . we'll just settle for the A.I. theme for now *ponders*  
  
*shakes head* Naw . . . WAY too creepy! ^^ That was a great intro by the way, I should hire you as a spokesperson!!! LOL This isn't nearly as dramatic, but it does fit in the space . . . kinda maybe sorta . . .  
On with the show my friends and fello fanfic luvers!!! The time is now; a very, very long chapter that perhaps may cure a little of that nasty "cliffy-itis" for you . . . *disappears with a flash of purple*  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
It was a sunny, September morning. One of those pleasant situations in which the sun seemed to shine with an extra orange flourish, and the cool air that stung up your nostrils was so clear and perfect, that the sun seemed to shine nearly twice as bright. There were at least a total of fifteen more minutes until that dreadful tong of the first bell, of the first semester, of the first school day in the year, but just ~because~ it was the first day of school meant it was the prime time for some serious chick-hunting.  
  
High schools always seemed better than "Baywatch", just because these girls were actually there, and most of that age and gender were in that barely post-adolescent stage that allowed their figures to stay neat and pretty that they were ALL gorgeous. Well, not including the freaks and creeps, but they never accounted for anything special.  
  
The particular handful of male students disguised their true, incredibly shallow intent by lighting a few last-minute cigarettes behind one of the trashy blue dumpsters overlooking the parking-lot. This was their chosen and (now that they were juniors) always reserved haunt that gave an illusion worthy of even the most feminist teacher around Domino High; Ms. Patchuson, the gym teacher. Though smoking was by no means considered honorable in the eyes of the teachers, it was just one of those things that many of them had come to accept. If they were to honestly punish students as they should regarding tobacco on campus, over half the school would probably be expelled.  
  
However, every time they looked the other way, they seemed to miss another rule-breaking act. But hey! It's not like the dumpster-boys were complaining! To see muscular Ms. Patchuson look down her hair-lip without even noticing their rightful pursuit of pretty girls, the "very bad habit" was entirely worth it.  
  
A few transfer girls giggled mysteriously at their obvious appraisals and appreciative whistles as they scooted by. They knew well that now was the time to act, as far as the dating scene was concerned, because once all of the girls tired of their shallow dispositions (they always did), they would be forced to recruit about the ~other~ nearby schools. But rivalries always seemed to sustain themselves at a positively ~dangerous~ level, and it was in their best interests to elongate their time of physically unscathed bliss.  
  
But even these thick-headed fools caught their breath at the sight of the automobile which happened to pull in at that very moment. The profound awe slapped on each one of their faces was nearly TOO evident.  
  
/Whoa, new rich kid!/  
  
Just went to show how shocked they were for thinking up such a stupid phrase . . . not that they were mental giants in the first place . . .  
  
It really did stand out though; regal and shimmering, with almost seductive curves accenting the swift body. The tinted windows reflected everything as if they were dark, lazy eyes with a gaze that brushed over too much. "High" eyes.  
  
The boys were already losing interest of admiration for this obvious new- comer, as more and more of the girls were averting to the Corvette in interest and INCREASING awe. When it finally became apparent that the females had no intention of returning, they decided to resort to the most "drastic" measures they could come up with.  
  
"Evan . . . " the speaker was extremely agitated, as he gripped the insides of his pockets tightly.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I'll handle it." A blonde boy responded, as he flicked the remains of his cigarette off of his fingers and took long-legged strides toward the scene of the crime. His gate was smooth and suave, allowing his long-tailed coat (totally in-style, of course) to flow temperamentally behind him, matching his mood and face.  
  
The Corvette halted slowly, and soon fell asleep after the key turned. The shallow boy now identified as "Evan" loitered casually, as the occupants took their sweet time coming out. Finally, the door was kicked open . . .  
  
. . . By a black leather boot . . .  
  
And poor (in the loosest sense possible), unsuspecting Evan's jaw nearly licked the concrete.  
  
Mai bounced out of her seat with a jaunty toss of her uppity hairdo, and ran her fingers through the loose part in a nervous habit. It wasn't long before she noticed the strange guy looking at her like a rare china doll, and she silently rose an elegant eyebrow in question.  
  
The boy's mind was a confused blur of possibility; /Oh man, this girl's hot . . . should I talk? No, she'd be repelled . . . gotta act sophisticated and cool . . . dammit, ~no~ girl has made me feel like this since sixth grade . . . insane, totally insane . . . /  
  
"Can I help you?" Mai finally asked, annoyed. /What an idiot, can't he take the hint?!/  
  
Evan took an involuntary step backward as she pulled him out of his mindless thoughts with a bitter demand. He didn't have the intention of actually ~conversing~ with a girl who looked as though she would eat him alive without hesitation, but of course, if the lady insisted . . . /how could I resist?/  
  
"I'm, uh," he scratched the back of his head coolly, trying with all his spare might to avoid eye-contact with his desperate friends in the distance, who were waving their hands and mouthing ridiculous phrased such as "retreat! retreat!" or "abandon ship!". /Heh. Figures, they just want this catch ALL to themselves, but I've soooooo got this one; easy./ "I was just wondering if . . . you needed the grand tour of our humble school! I know it's tough to start a new one."  
  
Mai sniffed disdainfully. /Masculine pig./  
  
Suddenly, the oblivious boy nearly jumped at the abrupt sound of ~another~ door opening, kicked widely by a more comfortable-looking booted heel that quickly gripped the asphalt with an audible ~*click*~. He almost trembled when the new form took her place next to the purple monstrosity.  
  
Now, he normally was never that appreciative of those bohemians who rebelled mercilessly against the clone-like outfits that were popular, because most of them were . . . weird . . . just too different. But Evan had no more doubt that his biased opinion could possibly be improved in the very near future. This specimen would have looked gorgeous in ~anything~.  
  
Rei nervously held her elbows as her Jansport balanced her weight out if she leaned slightly forward. She gave a quizzical glance at Mai, who was staring at some guy with all the venom she could muster, and began to survey the boy with faint mistrust.  
  
Evan didn't really notice.  
  
Her feet were entirely obscured by the cuff of her pant legs, so baggy it was much beyond a skater style ((AN - Hot Topic anyone? *grins*)). They were a deep blue, with strategically placed light-blue highlights, and too many bungees to count, but enough to tighten the pants in all of the right places. Her waist was slim though, and the pants fit nicely around them and easily as well.  
  
The shirt she wore was for the most part plain, but tastefully accented by a shimmering orange sash that was wrapped twice around her chest, and tied in the back. It supported shadows that would have easily been avoided otherwise, but now seemed to leave little to the imagination. There was also a black fish-net undershirt that made the orange look even more vibrant against her pale skin.  
  
And finally, her hair. Oh what hair!  
  
It seemed to be spun of the precise beautiful shades of clouds on an overcast day, and expertly cut into layers so that it stuck out cutely from her porcelain face. Another sash that matched her other one kept her hair in check, as it was tied like a headband, and contrasted in an interesting level with the blend of purples shadowing her eyes. Her eyes were all the make-up she sported, making them even more incredible and eye-drawing.  
  
Rei blinked her cat-like stenciled eyes to him, and blushed a little.  
  
" . . . Evan Sables?" she asked, lowering her head so that a few pieces of hair shifted position.  
  
His questioning look was hardly masked "Do I know you?" /Was I really so stupid that I let someone this pretty get away?!/  
  
Her eyes abruptly widened to a startling degree, and her fingers began to hang on dearly to the sides of her over-sized pant legs. Rei felt her feet twist around nervously, as she quickly thought of an applicable cover-up.  
  
Oh great, well; "Is it REALLY you?!" she gave a look of astonishment, whose mocking nature seemed only quite evident to the feminist wonder: Mai. But she was nothing but a willing, if not calm observer and one who was making sure her 'cousin' could handle her dilemma by herself. "I was in your first grade class!"  
  
"Oh?" Evan was looking sincerely thoughtful "I should go back and check sometime . . . are you sure?"  
  
"Very sure." /Why the hell is the school player insisting nonsense with me? Just leave!/  
  
He frowned slightly in increased thought, and nodded lightly in understanding to her verbal gesture. Evan instinctive glided his hand smoothly down his pocket before turning back to them with a simple expression and a faint smile of challenge tugging at the corners of his lips.  
  
"If you say so. Well, lovely ladies, my offer still stands true" he put in with a (seemingly) careless shrug and stare at Rei with bright sapphire eyes. She blushed a little deeper.  
  
Mai made an unhindered sound of disgust and (and because she was just too polite for her own good) grabbed Rei's hand.  
  
"I think we can handle ourselves." The two of them set off without a backward glance.  
  
Evan felt a slight pang of deja-vu as her watched them walk off /Where have I seen that walk before . . . /  
  
His face went cold.  
  
/You mean, THAT'S Mai Valentine, the elite 'queen' of nerds?! What the hell?!/  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"I trust you'll be able to handle yourself?" Mai asked.  
  
"I suppose . . . it will be an odd experience, no doubt."  
  
"Well, be sure to meet me for lunch! ~I~ certainly won't be able to navigate myself around this godforsaken--not to mention HUGE school!"  
  
Rei brought her hand to her mouth to politely hide a good-natured giggle. "You just don't give yourself enough credit. I'll meet you outside of your last class."  
  
"Hmph." Mai gave a graceful fling of her curls that diffidently turned a few heads about the crowded hallway. "You had ~better~."  
  
She smiled. /Mai, you certainly have a character./ "I'll . . . see you." What would have normally been categorized under 'natural slang', was seemingly decidedly UN-natural on the tip of Rei's tongue. Her face hardened slightly.  
  
/Stupid. I'm here, aren't I? I can finish this . . . /  
  
The blonde filtered through the loitering crowd without another word, trusting that Rei's unnaturally good sense should keep her out of trouble. Unfortunately, the girl in the extreme façade seemed a little less sure of herself than anyone else. But, she managed a chillingly large breath before she carefully pushed the door open to the first class on that Friday morning . . .  
  
/Why did they decide to start school on a Friday? That's a tad bit pointless, isn't it?/  
  
She was relieved to find that this otherwise foreign classroom seemed normal enough at first, but she craned her head around the door corner as a sort of cushioning comfort, just in case. It was simple to realize that she happened to be doing that a lot lately; craning her head for a better view, blinking deliberately, and slowly easing herself in any situation she found herself in. Rei knew it was becoming habit just like Mai's strenuous lessons, but she just hoped she didn't appear too dense every time she did it.  
  
Her feet managed on their own; moving one in front of the other, toward an apparently vacant seat near the window. The brunette next to the desk seemed friendly, as she was kindly allowing her attention wander out of the window, and was quite oblivious at that moment. Rei knew that was ~precisely~ what she was looking for, so she wove her way around the desks as to not let her pants catch on sharp edges and--  
  
"Whoa, geez ya big lug!"  
  
--was knocked to the side to the uncomfortable linoleum before she could make it across the room.  
  
Her head spun with the combined jolt of surprise, wafting fumes of her hairspray and someone else's faint cologne, and the backlash of landing on something hard, even if she was cushioned by her unsuspecting rear. It was a moment of disorientation that acted as a prelude to her not-so-nice thoughts to the person who so carelessly knocked her over.  
  
"Oh man, look whatcha did ya big jewrk!" Rei's eyes suddenly relaxed /Wa-a- a-ait a second, is that who I think it is?/ She gazed up to the tall figure who was standing . . . quite tall . . . in front of her.  
  
"You okay?" Joey Wheeler, in all of his messy-blonde 'nest' glory, asked, concern in his eyes.  
  
Rei tried to speak, but all that was coming out was a tense gurgle. Her throat felt as if it were tied into many, many unorganized knots that prevented anything intelligible from escaping their gate, but unlike a faintly similar feeling around Evan from earlier, this unusual ailment was immobilizing her quite successfully. Her head felt all floaty inside, almost (embarrassingly enough) ~dreamy~.  
  
The rather straightforward boy quickly gripped her slim shoulders, and placed her back to a full upright position ((AN - is anyone else strangely reminded of planes? ^^;;; giggle doesn't like planes . . . )). Maddeningly enough, Rei's cheeks were burning an even more fascinating shade of red.  
  
"Um, it's okay." She tried to avoid eye-contact, but it was rather pointless.  
  
"Ha, geez . . . " he scratched the back of his neck apologetically before turning angrily to his friend "Tristan, what the hell, man?" he shoved his shoulder.  
  
"DON'T start with me, Joey." Tristan said as his temple was visibly throbbing "It was your own damn fault."  
  
They continued onto their squabbling, completely ignoring the politely puzzled Rei to take in their unusual antics. She was suddenly becoming a bit annoyed by the fact that he barely apologized, and her face was becoming more red, not from that foreign embarrassment, but from barely- controlled anger.  
  
Rei finally brushed past them rudely, with a sassy and VERY Mai "excuse me!" as she overcame their barrier.  
  
She even surprised herself regarding her boldness for that split second, but her misgivings were rapidly cured; /I've wanted to do that for SO long, and now I have no conservative little image I desperately need to withhold . . .  
  
/ . . . not that I really had a reputation to uphold then I guess but,/ she pursed her lips /I really don't ~care~ anymore! This isn't me, and they'll never know./  
  
A friendly voice interrupted her thoughts "Don't worry about those idiots . . . they're dense, but they mean well."  
  
Rei looked up to amused, sapphire eyes and a welcoming expression. "You're probably right." How weird was this?! She had to pretend that she never knew her friends, just, why did they keep popping up always?!  
  
"Honestly, they're the best friends a girl could ask for. I just wish they weren't quite so unbelievably oblivious to everything around them."  
  
The cloud-haired girl gave a snortish giggle.  
  
"I'm Tea," she introduced with her head tilted toward the side and a questioning facial expression. "Tea Gardener."  
  
It took an uncomfortable moment before she realized that she needed to introduce herself as well.  
  
"R-Rei Valentine." She replied nervously, and twisting her hands tightly as her mouth twitched.  
  
Tea raised her eyebrows considerably, with her delicate hands brushing back strands of wood-shade behind her ear. "So are you related to Mai?"  
  
"Yeah . . . I'm her cousin." She tried not to focus on the idle way Tea was tapping her pen on the desk "From Kyoto." She added.  
  
"Ah," Tea's face now relaxed into a very welcome smile, but intruding on the subtle aura of intelligence hanging about her eyes. Strange, Ryou had never noticed that before. He had always assumed she was a rather simple- minded lady, who thought very highly of her friends. "well welcome! I hope you make yourself at home . . .  
  
"And . . . I don't know how else to say this but," she swallowed deeply "don't hesitate to make friends. I know how lonely it can be. Oh great, I'm probably just scaring you away, huh?"  
  
They both shared a merry burst of amusement, but for Rei also a burst of amazement, even if it didn't show on her face. /She 'knows how lonely it can be'? How; she's nice and has Yugi and the others . . . /  
  
Her eyes widened a little /Maybe she's right! Is that why Tea seems so obsessive over friendship? Maybe she DIDN'T have friends for a while, I UNDERSTAND now./  
  
Rei was feeling increased generosity around the friendly dancer.  
  
"Um, is anyone sitting here?" she wasn't going to attempt to avoid her anymore, for that she was certain. So they never came off to the right foot before, she could start over, just as she had previously promised herself.  
  
/Now hopefully I'm not just madly jumping to bold conclusions . . . /  
  
The other girl's wide blue eyes made contact with her book acting as a 'reserved' sign to the seat on her right for a moment. After making some quick decisions regarding the new girl (and an obvious glance to the hurrying clock), she finally sighed to her notebook and muttered a faint "Go ahead."  
  
Rei wasted no time, and at the precise moment the teacher and bell rushed elegantly into the room, accompanied in conversation with a spikey-haired boy.  
  
A particularly ~familiar~ spikey haired boy.  
  
She felt herself start at the sight of his appearance; not quite the severe and very Yami leather, but still dark and mysterious. He had grown a few inches since Ryou had seen him for the last time, but Yugi was still quite short for his age. Short; and yet had a more better understanding of maturity that showed through his large eyes.  
  
Rei saw Tea stiffen as his clear voice rang true, and she averted her eyes to the floor. Her back was slouched, which a dancer NEVER did, but there she was. Quite a sight to see already for innocent Rei, but she had a feeling the picture would seem even more spectacular if Tea showed her probably-scarlet face.  
  
And she did something Ryou would have NEVER done.  
  
She ~giggled~.  
  
That seemed to trigger the other girl out of her obviously frazzled state, to glare at Rei as if to say 'it's not funny!'.  
  
Her white-ish hair seemed to sparkle under the florescent lights as she leaned in carefully "You like him, don't you?"  
  
If she had looked back at herself, it would probably be with a look of distinct horror for asking a question so prying. But somehow, it didn't seem terribly rude if you looked at it instinctively. Rei just saw her with an amused eye and thought mischievously (a normally poorly-used expression) that Tea was practically 'begging to be teased'!  
  
This . . . new found joy was becoming oddly enthralling.  
  
Tea stuttered, but no sound really came out. She blushed again as she spotted the poetic-looking Yugi taking a seat between Joey and Tristan, enough that Rei didn't really need any fake objections to her assumptions. It was scary that she was acting this daring.  
  
Oh, what an interesting day it would become. She was sure about that.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
That must be one of my worst chapters yet . . . kinda pointless, including the fact that it was pointlessly long, but I won't have to explain other things that make this story interesting.  
  
I'm sorry Tea-bashers, but she really isn't all that bad. Being a student amoung MANY angst-ridden artists has given me the opinion by experience, that Tea must have been in a very UN-friendly situation before to make her so touchy about that. That, or she was just in that amazingly emotional stage in Duelist Kingdom half the time, but COME ON PEOPLE. I DON'T PARTICULARLY LIKE HER MYSELF, BUT THE BASHING IS BECOMING JUST PLAIN REDICULOUS!!! If you're going to bash her, at least bash her for who "Tea" really is, and not who you want to hate her as.  
  
*breathes* Okay, end weekly rant ^^  
  
Again, I apologize for the lateness, but I just started another one of my bizarre YGO fics, and that took up a bit of my time. If you care, it's called "Fithos Lusec Wicos Venosec". The title translated is something along the lines of "succession of witches", but I don't entirely trust Squaresoft on their translations, because I got this directly from Final Fantasy VIII's opening theme; "Liberali Fatali". Blame them if it's wrong! But it sounds cool I guess . . .  
  
ANYWAY . . . that was lame. I shouldn't describe my other stories in my ANs . . . that's presicely what my (currently unnamed) NEMESIS does. *bonks head on wall*  
  
Okay guys, you know the drill! *cackles*  
  
(in a good way of course ^^;;;)  
  
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW (even if you don't like it) REVIEW (even if the author sounds like she's inside a "funny farm" right now) REVIEW (just trust me) REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVI--  
  
Ummmm, I think you get the picture. But I can assure you that I'm just THAT desperate! Ridiculous, eh? (no, I'm not Canadian) Sorry if I hurt your eyes badly *dodges rotten fruit*  
  
Toodles!  
  
giggleplex  
^^ heh heh *hiccup* 


	14. SOOOO SOOOOOORRY! my grammer's even bad

Okay guys, this is my VERY unworthy apology (for now).  
  
I have no reasonable and truthful excuse for my, well, ~laziness~ regarding this story. I mean, I went through a whole week without school (spring break), and typing a "grand" total that is actually less than 500 words.  
  
I don't even have writers block! *bangs head against the wall*  
  
Every time I sat down and opened up "word", I would just end up closing the window again, and reading. I DON'T KNOW WHAT"S WRONG WITH MEEEEEEE!  
  
Then, I felt reaaaaaally bad inside over my unfavorable work-ethic at the moment, when I received my very first--  
  
--Desperation review.   
  
But despite my sad, sad state of blankness (and floaty Ranma manga images), I PROMISE TO UPDATE BY THE END OF THE MONTH. I won't even let the cursed Catholic collage prep high school papers get in the way. *shakes head madly* NO way.  
  
And it should be an exciting chappie . . . Ryuuji is heeeeere!  
  
Kuja: And glamorous . . .  
  
Oli: And gay . . .  
  
Kuja: And PRETTY! *glomps Otogi plushie*  
  
giggle: *sweatdrop* . . . . . . . . . . As a sort of compensation, I'll be truthfully accepting any suggestions storywise that you may hold. That means, if you want a pool party with the most glamorous bishies in anime, I'll consider it. If you want Tea to kick the crap out of some mindless goons, I'll consider it. Hell, if someone wants a Rinnie/Rei fic . . .  
  
. . . weeeeell, maybe not ~that~ . . .  
  
But talk to me! *beckons* I'll write faster!  
  
*goes back to listening to the Ranma 1/2 opening theme and mouthing things she doesn't understand* ^^ 


	15. Her First School Luncheon

Umm . . . *blushes* Sowwy everyone . . . for the delay.  
  
DISCLAIMER - *bonks lawyer on the head* I don't own it you scum!  
  
There's not much I have to say right now, I'm just exhausted. *falls over, mumbling incoherently*  
  
Oli: *leads over the men with the needles*  
  
Needle Man #1: Is this the case you were describing.  
  
Oli:Yup.  
  
giggle: But I don't WANNA go back to the funny farm!!!  
  
Review Responses (so unnaturally delayed and sad):  
  
Little Ball with 'review response' taped to the front of it: Yes! We are sad and neglected . . .  
  
Anywho . . . here they are;  
  
NeoStar - The Men in White are so horrible. The worst part, is they insist that everything's going to be alright, and that makes me feel all scared inside . . . *shivers* I'm glad you still like it! *huggles NeoStar* I'm so lonely; everyone went away, but not you! Thanks! And . . . aw hell, YES to your question/request! *mumbles*  
  
(Impatient Reviewer) Kitty-chan66 - *wipes sweat off of forehead* My goodness, I hope I haven't disappointed you . . . *bows* I am subject to your will, because you are so, so nice! *gushes* ESPECIALLY if you were the same "impatient reviewer" from before! I'm really sorry about the wait, and I hope you will be able to forgive my undeserving soul, please?  
  
KitKatt0430 - No, keep THE FIEND AWAY! *forms 'X' sign with fingers* Well, my homework actually isn't too bad, it's just that I am now officially enrolled into Central Catholic, Collage Prep High School so naturally, there is a lotta paperwork that comes with it. But hey, at least I'll be able to take Japanese next year! YAY! *looks around nervously* Now, my update ~was~ quick enough for you . . . right?  
  
Ryou's Gal - *blushes* I'm glad you like it so far! When I first wrote the beginning of this story, I was unsure how people would react. But it's people like you that keep me going, really! Oh, and a 'funny farm' is what my friends and I refer to (what is more commonly known as) a mental institution. I actually had a friend that was enrolled in a . . . "home" when he was back in sixth grade, but that's a whole different story. ^^;;; I have strange friends.  
  
Yami Krissy - YAY! You came back! My computer was sick a few times this year as well . . . those were sad times. Congrats on a successful recovery (even if it is a bit late)! Wow, I'm still amazed that such a talented writer as yourself put this on a fav list . . . *blushes* Heh, thanks for the glimpse again, I like that microphone!  
  
S.A. Bonasi - Thank you, hope you like the rest so far! ^^  
  
*Vulcana* - Well, the last chappie was sort of cute, but this one isn't even that cute. *sighs* really need to move onto something more interesting. Next chapter I'm going to have Shaadi visit the Sanctuary, I think. ^^ I can't wait until I get to write that!  
  
Shenya - Thankies, though I doubt such a defense can be used in this chapter. Ah well, I HOPE the next will be better. Sorry about the exclamation marks, I am slightly obsessed in expression . . . *laughs nervously*  
  
******OKAY, BEFORE WE BEGIN, JUST REMEMBER, FELLOW DUB-JUNKIES: DUKE=RYUUJI. I REFUSE TO CALL SOMETHING THAT PRETTY SOMETHING SO . . . UNFITTING. MAYBE VINCENT, LIKE IN FF7, BUT NOT DUKE!******  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hmm . . . " his eyes wandered across the page thoughtfully "where are you my darling . . . "  
  
Evan and another boy from the shallow 'posse' were currently loitering around the deserted, and shiny spiffed hallways that served, literally, as a backbone of Domino High. They could hear a few muffled murmurs of lectures and introductions from the classrooms they slowly wandered past, but for the most part, they were ignored, as was the couple that walked in between them.  
  
The other boy's name was Derek, but not even Evan knew that. Posse members had been slinking around for years; successfully harvesting a booming community on it's own that worshipped themselves by no modest means. Derek had lived in a sort of shadow for all of high school previously of the 'true' magnificence of the not-so-exclusive group, probably because in his freshman and sophomore years, he had been nearly always a head shorter than the rest of his female companions.  
  
But all of that had changed around last June, for he had been subject to a nearly remarkable growth spurt that left him only slightly shorter than Evan and the rest of the inner group. The summer had been amazing for him; girls were actually coming up and introducing ~themselves~ to him, and not the almost pathetic events that he was forced to participate in ever before.  
  
That of course, had signaled the other players to notice his charms as well.  
  
Though he admitted to himself, this idiot was not what he expected.  
  
One event had led to another, the main points being that only one person that meant anything had the same science class that he did, and was nearly religious to be fashionably late on your first day of school, in ALL of your classes. So here he stood.  
  
It was not as if he even cared to have company, because he had certainly managed himself quite successfully on his own before, and alone. It was just that the genius beside him had oh-so-smartly brought up that ~perhaps~ they should wander ~together~.  
  
Derek rolled his eyes; partly at Evan, and partly at himself for being so stupid of allowing him to come along.  
  
/I KNEW I should have taken Honor's this year!/  
  
"Ah-ha!" Evan exclaimed, with much effort of pure ecstatic happiness "There you are! There she is!"  
  
Unable to contain his glee, the blonde immediately shoved the old worn yearbook, of indeterminate color, into the brunette's face. Derek backed up, smelling something awful. No one really knew what Evan constantly kept in his locker besides the old yearbooks, and for that matter, no one really understood why he was so determined to keep the old paper booklets in there.  
  
Of course, the confrontation with the younger face of Evan's latest fixation was unavoidable, so Derek sneered, but surveyed the page carefully. There was a pause, as the somewhat oblivious boy waited anxiously for a response as she stood and shook a little with excitement.  
  
"What the hell are you on?!" Derek asked with a growl, taking Evan by surprise. "That's a ~GUY~. See, 'Ryou Bakura'!"  
  
"Huh?" he took the booklet back with great care, a crinkle appearing in between his eyebrows when he started to laugh nervously. "Well, whaddya know!" he scratched the back of his head.  
  
"I'm leaving."  
  
"What?!"  
  
Evan struggled to keep up with the shock of the unexpected event. It wasn't helping his cause that Derek was walking away from him as fast as was possible, without drawing any teacher-attention, unwanted attention, to himself. Their footsteps became louder, and echoed a bit to and fro.  
  
"Wait a second!"  
  
They took an abrupt turn at the sight of 212 on the right, and rose speed at the straight hall that sported a majority of sophomore lockers--Derek was nearly panting now, as they passed a pretty senior--a frosh on the way to the bathroom--Evan wasn't showing any sign of letting up--  
  
A door opened, right in front of the flushed face of Derek.  
  
He literally screeched to a halt, leaving a lengthened black mark on the newly polished linoleum tile. His head spun for a moment, and he heard the same action committed by Evan behind him.  
  
Subconsciously, he knew that they were near the office. Subconsciously, he knew that many people would have been coming out of the back door at all times. But that didn't prevent him from pushing the interfering bystander out of the way, or yelling a million obscenities that would have each sufficed individually . . .  
  
What stopped him, was the sight of him.  
  
He was of an abnormal type in Domino City, with very perplexing white hair that reached to the middle of his back in showering layers, and a slender figure that further accentuated his already-considerable height. His outfit was plain and simple; a sweater and slacks that were finely pressed and matched perfectly.  
  
His eyes were lifeless.  
  
That was what caught the astonished attention of both boys, they stared with forgotten shame and the other boy just quietly looked back at them, with a sad uncaring. ~Sad~, depressed and repressed somehow.  
  
He left them after simply a glance.  
  
"S-sorry, Ryou." Derek stuttered, distracted, and temporarily disabled of any sort of reasonable thought.  
  
That stopped him. He turned, his deep voice shaking slightly as if he were on the precarious verge of tears, but he still spoke clearly.  
  
"I am not Ryou Bakura."  
  
He left them in a bewildered haze, standing transfixed.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Rei sighed into her cream-cheesy bagel. "I told you you should have packed a lunch this morning . . . "  
  
Mai responded with a 'hmph' as she dramatically collapsed into the plastic chair situated beside her friend. She ran her fingers through her hair, something that Rei had long since translated as an action of either profound exasperation, or considerable annoyance. But Mai WAS the one who insisted on sleeping in that morning, so the doe-eyed girl seemed to hold no pity for her situation.  
  
"Honestly, isn't there some kind of law as to providing crap instead of food?! Ridiculous, they always tell we ARE the future, so why do they insist on poisoning us at an early age?!"  
  
The lunch-room was bathing in a constant babble of excitement; a fitting lunch for the first school day. Mai and Rei had immediately claimed the table farthest away from the horrible stenches of 'food', and the meaningless gossip nonsense that seemed to eventually hurt anyone involved.  
  
Gossip and the eventual hurtful comments probably never were simple misunderstandings, just some heartless person with a wish for revenge. It just wasn't meant to be understood, and those sort of things frightened Rei.  
  
Ah well. No wonder they always told you public school prepared you for the real world . . .  
  
/Yeah. I've had enough of 'life being unfair' already./  
  
"Whaddya know," Mai suddenly stood, but considering the noise, Rei couldn't even hear her chair legs scraping on the floor. "look who's here!"  
  
Her white hair flowed in reaching strands as she looked up.  
  
Tea was standing there with a tin 'Care Bears' lunchbox, her posture reflecting that she had turned at the sound of Mai's voice, and hadn't seen them there. Her lovely azure eyes were widened slightly, and Rei suddenly noticed something about Tea she hadn't before. Unlike most teens of her stature and age, she wore no make-up on her face; her appearance was precisely how you saw her.  
  
It was actually transcending into quite an uncomfortable pause, as it were some sort of weird, b-movie showdown, with the freshmen wandering around being the tumbleweeds, and Tea and Mai being the two egotistical shooters.  
  
Rei was beginning to have her doubts, as Tea was standing there for a ~very~ extended stare, without so much as a blink. Mai's smug expression didn't particularly express this as a friendly exchange; her slightly ironic smirk, her bored eyes, or her elbows pivoted on the table as they held up her head.  
  
But she actually didn't need to worry.  
  
"Mai?!" she gasped, rushing over and giving her an extra-friendly hug. They leaned back happily and giggled in some sort of girlish understanding, making Rei wonder slightly as she paused mid-chew on her plain bagel as it was temporarily forgotten, even in it's ready and poised position.  
  
They separated energetically, and though their identical expressions were a bit disturbing, Rei began to chew again without choking.  
  
"Wow, it's amazing I haven't seen you here before now!" Tea gushed, and with a little smile; "Are you ~actually~ losing your flamboyancy, Mai?" she joked, sitting herself down by Rei.  
  
"Not by a long shot." Mai assured her, with a certain level of smugness evident in her tone.  
  
The dancer smiled down to open her lunchbox with a *~clink~* of the little latch against tin, or more descriptively, 'BraveHeart's' big, smiling face.  
  
"How are you two? How was Black's class, Rei?"  
  
Tea was smoothing out the plastic wrapping of her sandwich, and didn't see Mai's questioning glance, as if she supposed her supposed 'cousin' had let something slip she shouldn't have. The girl took particular pride in smiling to show the situation was all under control, and that Tea and Rei indeed had a side-conversation as though Rei had no idea who the aged and lecherous Mr. Black was.  
  
"I managed to survive." She said promptly, opening a Tupperware case full of assorted pasta noodles. Tea's actions were fairly efficient in opening the can of peach nectar and chugging it so much, that the other two girls were having trouble believing that she was alive and actually breathing.  
  
"Someone's thirsty . . . " Mai muttered.  
  
Tea concluded her extraordinary talent with a nice refreshed sound, and after another moment of stunned silence--  
  
--she belched, loud. Loud enough that the entire cafeteria was at a lost for words for a split second.  
  
It was actually unlike anything Rei had experienced before, so naturally she laughed until it hurt. Mai looked embarrassed, and Tea looked as though she wouldn't have minded either way, when a string of applause carried over from a table near the exit of the cafeteria; Yugi's table.  
  
She blushed, looking slightly sheepish now. Mai and Rei noticed her reaction from the small boy's praise, and each traded identically evil looks that reflected they both knew what ~she~ was thinking about.  
  
"Wow Tea," Rei started, leaning over so that they both had the same view of the Game King duo. "Yugi looks pretty lonely over there . . . hey, he's pretty cute when he's lonely . . . "  
  
Rei suddenly realized what she had said, and choked away with horror at expressing an opinion like ~that~, but fortunately, Mai took off where she had left, very enthusiastically in fact.  
  
"Oh my! Black makes him look very sexy, even when it's not leather. But I bet you really like him in leather better . . . "  
  
"Leaves less to the imagination . . . "  
  
"Oh my god!" Tea finally exclaimed, blushing furiously "Will you guys ~stop~?!"  
  
They finally broke the charade, laughing madly at the dancer's embarrassed expense. She finally gave a great and powerful roll of her eyes, but just as she was about to pack back up, an uninvited guest quickly sat down with their hand on her shoulder and commanded; "Don't move."  
  
Her face was beyond quizzical, when she finally realized with eyes even wider than usual (if that were even possible);  
  
"Ryuuji?!"  
  
Mai's face, already flushed from laughing, enjoyed the moment even further, even if Rei was a little too surprised to join in on the fun. They all noticed Ryuuji's hooded figure begin to wring his hands nervously, contrasting with his seemingly-careless disguise of something a little more upscale than poser-punk.  
  
"Please Valentine," he hissed "you're bringing too much attention to us!"  
  
"You're the one to talk."  
  
It took Rei a moment to realize that it was indeed ~she~ who said that.  
  
She saw a shimmer of emerald-green under the gray hood; contorted in mistrust. He muttered suddenly "Who's she?" in a sort of demanding tone, which didn't make sense considering the consequences.  
  
"She's my cousin--"  
  
"She's a new friend of mine--"  
  
"I'm Rei."  
  
His thin right eyebrow arose at the praise of the unsuspecting Rei, who stared back fearlessly at his careful assessment of her appearance. He was about the same height as her sitting down, and she noticed that he was gripping his baggy beige pants with increasing force.  
  
Her eyes tore from his appraisal, as she seeing the scene as uncomfortable; like she were being looked at as if she were a new pack animal. The eyes under the orange scarf and the deep-black brows darted between the smirking face of Mai Valentine, and the openly friendly one of Tea Gardener.  
  
She was a diminutively uncertain of what she should do next.  
  
He turned to Tea, probably the only reason he joined the table, for Mai was never the ideal of inconspicuous behavior, and besides, Tea was too nice to betray a secret.  
  
"Can she be trusted?" he asked coldly, fiddling with his dice-shaped earing.  
  
Mai sighed heavily, obviously not taking his caution seriously, which Rei realized, she wasn't herself really either "Of course she can, pretty dice master, she's my cousin."  
  
"Can ~you~ be trusted?" another raising of an eyebrow, a sound of disgust.  
  
"I should damn well hope so you moron!"  
  
"Mai," Tea put in softly "why don't you just settle down."  
  
The glamorous blonde finished temporarily with the glamorous black-haired boy, with a 'hmph' for good measure. They all sat stiffly, Rei suddenly wishing she wasn't causing so much trouble. Tea obviously sensed her discomfort, because she was whispering to her in a flash of her blue shirt.  
  
"Don't worry, they're just both too proud." She smiled humorously, as Rei turned to her as if she were slightly mad "Too proud for their own good."  
  
/Well,/ she thought /she does have that point well sorted out./  
  
"So Ryuuji, what happened to that lovely sense of fashion?" Mai asked, her viciously violet eyes glittering.  
  
"The girls caught up to it." He glanced around "Too conspicuous."  
  
Tea snorted with disgust at his assumptions. She wasn't about to let ~that~ comment slide by; a lesson so conveniently taught by the pretty girl across the table. The only other ~true~ girl.  
  
"Well, you must be distressed, considering that you ARE talking to girls, and your normally wordy sentences have been considerably shortened."  
  
"Might I ask ~why~ you chose this particular look?" Mai tilted her head to the side, as her fingers wrapped around themselves when she let them fall from the supporting of her head and slouched forward, stretching her back.  
  
"They can't see me from under the hood." Was his simple reply  
  
"Well," Mai continued loftily, as if it were a logical theorem that was proving a proof. "I suggest you at least update this so-called look; the whole dueling expo sweatshirt makes you look like a nerd."  
  
"Oh, you mean a nerd like you Mai?" he countered, annoyed.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Sorry Ryuuji, that was entirely too entirely ridiculous to be taken seriously . . . "  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Damn!"  
  
Rei realized that her friends she had thought she knew, were quite curious once you thought about it.  
  
The reminding lunch bell rang out in clear 'g' tones, so the four of them bid each other farewell, some goodbyes more tender and serious than others, and journeyed their separate ways.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Well, I must say this IS a chapter that is slightly more uneventful than the others, but the confrontation with everyone's favorite psychopath (unless you're a Malik fan of course!) was a somewhat important aspect . . . if . . . uh, I forgot what I was going to say! ^^;;;  
  
Let this be a lesson to you kiddos; don't stay up until 1:30 five nights in a row, wake up at 8 on ~each~ of the following mornings, and then go to school. Even if "Trigun", "Inuyasha", AND "Cowboy Bebop" (*blows kazoo*) are on. It's a BAAAAAAD experience, trust me!  
  
Just say to yourself; "dubbing is bad for your mind ANYWAY" and maybe, just maybe, it won't be ~quite~ so bad. Oh no . . . I got myself all sniffling again . . .  
  
Oli: *bangs giggle on the head with her pink stapler* Shaddap! You're such a lazy bum, it's not like they care!  
  
giggle: *grumbles* Why . . . you little . . . MUNCHKIN! AHHHHHH! *chases after Oli with a wicked-looking gunblade (Final Fantasy 8 reference to the coolest weapon in existance)*.  
  
Kuja: *looks* Wonder where she got that. Huh. Well, since giggle has gone postal ~again~, I think it's time to wrap up this charade.  
  
*curtains close*  
  
. . . but please, review? Maybe we can make it to 82 reviews this time . . . *prays*  
  
Happy belated Easter everyone, and hope the long stretch of the semester will be just as pleasant for you, as it is for me *grins sarcastically* BETTER, actually.  
  
Ja ne! ^^  
  
giggleplex 


	16. A Conference of Shadows

OH MY GOD!!! *dodges flying veggies* I'm so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o sorry!  
  
There is no excuse for my slowness, but I'm sorry *sniffle*. My disc drive is broken on the only computer with the internet at my house, and my mom has been constantly working at home on this stupid business plan for the past 2 months.  
  
And remember what I said about working on "FLWV"?! That was ALL on a disc! THE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS ARE ON A FRICKID FLOPPY DISC!!!  
  
I hate computers. Really, I do.  
  
Oli: Why don't you sing about it.  
  
Why don't you, demented pixie?! *breathing raggedly*  
  
Oli: *eyes widen as she slowly inches away*  
  
But I do have GOOD GOOD IMPORTANT NEWS FOR YOU READERS:  
  
I have started a new story entitled "Before I Fell Over the Rainbow", which is a sort of prequel regarding Tea to "The Sanctuary". I strongly suggest you check it out ^^ You know me! *giggles*  
  
My next update (as far as I know) will be on that story. It'll be short; only about 5 chapters in all, so don't worry about me lagging os behind again. God. I don't even know if anyone's reading anymore. I'm so slow, and my computer greatly dislikes me *huggles Kenshin plushie* I'm so unloved . . .  
  
Oh well. That doesn't mean I'm stopping!  
  
loquacious guava - You . . . like it? Oh my, thank you very much! *blushes* I didn't think you would but . . . oh wow, thanks! E-mail me whenever you want; I need people to talk to. And we SO have to see Trigun together ^^  
  
summer psycho - Yes ma'am! *salutes*  
  
R Amythest - Yeah . . . but I STILL think Vincent Valentine is way cooler ~_^ Sorry about my lack of correspondence. Evil, computer hogging mothers haunt my humble life. Bleh.  
  
Rosz of the Angel - Thanks. Really, you words mean a lot to me. I hope you're still there for this update, because I LOVE hearing from you! ^^ Hope this chapter satisfies you!  
  
Cloak*and*Dagger/Aisha Outlaw - *double take* No. Way. *squeals* Thank you so much for checking out my fic! You know how much I love yours ^^ Don't explode . . . the day will get better . . . okay, that advise is WAY late, but use it wisely in the future when that particular urge threatens to consume you. *nodnod* Yes, yes. Thank you so very much!!! I'm going to bounce now. *bounces*  
  
Yami Krissy - YAY! You're back! No microphone though, darn ^^ Don't worry about reviewing late, I mean, look how late I've updated.  
  
Oli: Your own damn fault!  
  
*looks thoughtful* Who the hell taught you to say that?!  
  
Tasuki: *whistles innocently*  
  
. . . where did that come from? Maybe I should sleep more. Inuyasha won't be back until August *sniffle*  
  
Shenya - Umm . . . sorry? *dodges tomato* I wish this chapter were more eventful, but I guess it ~does~ have a twist at the end ^^ And it's long (by my standards)  
  
Rowan and Sakura - *bows* Thankies! Hope you're having an easier time around here now . . . (it took me a few months; I'm so sad!)  
  
Sailor Comet - Yeah, we can hardly resist the psychopath type. *sniffle* Too bad he's all Ryou's . . . they're just too pretty to be straight. Though, that doesn't mean we can stop ogling them ^^ I hope you're still there; you've supported me through a lot of this stuff, haven't you? ^^ See you around!  
  
Kitty-chan66 - Oh my . . . thank you *blushies* I'M SO SORRY FOR THE MAJOR- DELAY! I hope you guys aren't too angry *wrings hands* Dubbing is funny though! And it's really sad, but I actually like Vash's English voice. He's funny *giggles*  
  
Always. I'm constantly thinking of new ideas! Too many, I think *swirly eyes*  
  
NeoStar - You know, it's odd. The men in white coats move away quite fast when you're practicing your evil cackle in the mirror. Thank you, oh so humble knight! How might I ever repay you?! We shall forever be against the men in white coats . . . and maybe even join their ranks someday! MWAHAHAHAHA--*gag* *gulps down tea*  
  
Okay, so that would be just plain cruel. *whips out pink stapler* Forever feel my wrath, white fiends!!! Help with the disclaimer? Giggle no understand, tell me! ^^ Any help is welcomed, fello funny bunny (isn't fello cool spelled like that?)  
  
Deja*vu - Well, I'm a creepy-weird kinda gal ^_~ Ryuuji doesn't like being famous . . . poor guy. Hope you continue to keep up with my story!  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
WOW!!! Over 100 reviews! I . . . actually cried when I saw that. Thank you so much for your support, my friends. I LUFFLES YOU GUYS!!! *huggles everyone*  
  
Oh yeah! I have a wittle very, very bad picture I drew of Rei on her first day of school ^^ I'm no good at anime (fanartists are so cool ^^ but I'm a realism freak T.T), but I know I never really explained her hairstyle, so here it is: - 1060045323?m=0&pg=0&ro=0&co=1  
  
So, lets be off, darlings ^^ Oh, and I don't own YGO. Who'd have thunk. ^^  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
So many nuisances; the mortal world was always imperfect as it had existed for too long.  
  
In fact, the unluckiness was so horrible, it breached the 'barrier', and allowed those unworthy of the real world able to meddle in human affairs. Such souls were vermin to him, souls that could never learn true humility because, technically, they didn't exist.  
  
So how could this have happened?  
  
The spirit that occupied an entire line of sons since ancient times, the one lost dreadfully to the effects of immortality, the one that had always called himself 'Shadi', knew naught of the purpose of such jest and foolery. It just wasn't logical.  
  
He drummed his blunt fingertips on his pursed lips, finding their coolness calming to his soul. Actually, the gods had been quite strange lately . . . why, look at such unrest recently! The Battle City tournament that could have caused ~so much~ to go wrong, non-magical weapons powerful enough to destroy the world, snowing in midsummer . . .  
  
For someone who's lengthy lives dedicated for the sole purposes of the gods, he was confused. But he was only a servant, and the more he contemplated over the matter, the more clearly he realized that it was not his place to question the ideas of the gods.  
  
Carefully plotting his bare feet on the side of the oversized rock, Shadi hiked his light white robes past his knees, and hosted himself to the top. The view that should have startled him, was a disappointment from it's vagueness. The 'sky' was like a dark, swirling sunset, just a melancholy mix of reds, purples, and blacks. No evidence that the thing he looked for had crossed the plain of nothingness at all.  
  
Growling in genuine frustration, he leapt down, not even bothering to dust off his robes from the clingy purple dust. His eyes were dull and hard; he was beyond angry.  
  
"Have you been looking for me?"  
  
Sing-song tone, teasing his weary mind to thoughts of the extreme.  
  
Shadi whipped around with the experience of deaths plain in his eye, and was met by a bright contrast to the rather dreary setting. It was something heavenly, something other-worldly.  
  
Something that needed to be taken care of, before it ruined everything.  
  
"You have, I think." The Change of Heart decided aurally, nodding "But whatever for?"  
  
She fanned her pale, porcelain face with a white fan innocently. Shadi still glared, with every ounce of nastiness he could muster. He supposed he had been walking in this wasteland for what could have been weeks, months even. And here she--it was; the one who found ~him~.  
  
"This is not a visit to discuss meaningless pleasantries." He said, in that empty, emotionless tone.  
  
"Hmm." She was looking about in a bored manner, even examining the illusion she conjured of meticulous fingernails.  
  
"I am very serious, you stupid thing!"  
  
Her eyes flashed dangerously. She dropped the fan, as it disappeared before it hit the surface that she stood on, as her feet gently raised from it, and she floated with her face contorted in barely-suppressed anger.  
  
"Oh really?" the Yami hissed.  
  
Shadi straightened his back, giving off an even colder aura. The Change of Heart knew his heart was twisting into the turmoil of rage that he could not control, after all, this was ~her~ sanctuary.  
  
The children were off playing near the gingerbread cottage, so she knew they were safe.  
  
"Your foolish actions are not justified by any means; what do you think you are to fool around with beings of such sophisticated power?! The millennium item holders are living on a precarious balance of magic, that could ~easily~ destroy any world."  
  
He took a scarce breath, and licked his lips.  
  
"Even your own."  
  
Not even bothering for another stare-down, the Change of Heart lifted her chin and replied with;  
  
"Who is to say that they would have experienced a more severe imbalance with two souls? Two souls inhabiting the same body?"  
  
Shadi scowled "That is none of your business, monster."  
  
She was joking with herself. Really. Her mistress was unique in the way that she treated her like a natural thing, and not a ~problem~. Yet, her mistress' heated reassurances that she indeed deserved such respect were astounding, but meant more to her than what sad things, like the Shadi, often claimed.  
  
In her mistress' name, she found her echoing voice, knowing that Shadi had no right to talk to her down like a normal master.  
  
"I believe," she said "that my mistress is my business. You just don't understand what the problem is."  
  
Ryou was unstable long before the Change of Heart was gifted to him; a child that experienced profound loss in his life, as well as the bitter affects of neglect from the ones he cared about most. Come to think of the past, she should have brought him to her sanctuary to heal before the depression stuck. But he was gifted with the powerful trinket, and spirit imprisoned in the millennium ring was much of the same when it came to past, and that was dangerous.  
  
No one cared for Ryou though, he had no one to share his burden and pain with.  
  
That was what Shadi had carelessly overlooked; where did he ever get the idea that her mistress had ever wanted such power in the first place?  
  
"Me, understand humanity? I do not think that is an area in which you are justified to judge. You are not human."  
  
"You do not have to be human to understand humanity, parasite."  
  
He hissed between his teeth at the insult.  
  
"The 'Independence Day' is approaching--"  
  
"Not soon enough. And even now, my mistress has a power to destroy everything she holds dear, so don't meddle in her affairs."  
  
Shadi's eyebrows shied in surprise.  
  
"What do you mean?!"  
  
"Don't you know?" she said spitefully "The Tomb Robber was the one that stole the Eye. It is rightfully in her possession now."  
  
Now this was an unneeded complication.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Ditching your homework ~already~, Mai?" Rei clucked disapprovingly.  
  
"Oh come on, Rei," the stylish duelist claimed in a good-natured way "we haven't done anything for a week. It's time to treat ourselves to something!"  
  
Rei sighed. There was no use arguing with someone you actually agreed with.  
  
Mai was currently lounging luxuriously on a waxy chair that squealed in protest under her position, but was turning to be what appeared to be a very unhappy chair (as Mai didn't really care for it more than her comfort). Rei was seated next to her; keeping a straight posture so that her back wouldn't begin to ache later, though she was quite weary for some reason despite the extra effort. She assumed it was only the sickness of new-school-year nerves, but the added complications probably didn't help matters at all.  
  
They had both been dismissed early from their classes that morning to lunch, as it was a Friday and the teachers understood through experience that they could never hope to understand, or limit the students in their anticipation of fleeting freedom. The cheery sunlight shining through windows and the cages of humming fans did not help the learning mood; by most standards, it was a beautiful day. Rei didn't really care for the invitation of the dry weather as much as her classmates, because she was very British at heart and, rather than thinking fondly of hot summer days, she embraced the cool and damp with a wide umbrella so that the raindrops didn't tickle her eyelids . . .  
  
But it was sunny. Stereotypical joy.  
  
This did not mean, however, that their load of homework was relieved as much as their attention.  
  
Truthfully, it had been a rather uneventful experience through their first days back. She had only witnessed a bare handful of students getting dunked into trashcans, and no pranks that had been pulled on the unsuspecting teachers (Rei supposed that perhaps Yugi's lectures might have actually been working successfully on the ears of Joey and Tristan).  
  
Rei was trying to make the most out of her odd situation, but her natural shyness seemed to multiply incredibly when she came back to school. Risking nothing, she often kept her head down and profile low, at least, as much as was possible when you hung around Mai Valentine.  
  
The flashy styles she bought and painted carefully on her face were preventing her from entirely fading to the background, even if Mai could only give her a makeover before school once a week. Though Rei could admit to the point of everything, that 'Rei's' appearance was far from what 'Ryou's' had been. Ryou had faded into the background, and in order to throw off any suspicions, theoretically, Rei had to be where the attention was. It was just frightening.  
  
Though they rarely saw her face, Rei was still a radical contrast to any of the other female students, and the unusual attention she was receiving made her feel all the more uncomfortable.  
  
Her conversation with Mai on the subject wasn't at ALL relieving.  
  
/"I thought that women were supposed to be the forward ones!" she had said with wide eyes, her hands gripping and twisting together nervously.  
  
Mai had thrown her elegantly curled head back and ~laughed~.  
  
"It's just because you're so ~cute~" she had immediately grasped Rei's cheek as an infamous aunt would have, and from then on, teased her unmercifully . . . /  
  
"And I know just the place." Mai claimed, looking thoughtful. Her right hand was supporting her chin, while her other hand was lazily draped over the corner of 'their' table as her fingers traced unconscious nothings in the air.  
  
Rei shivered, glancing fleetingly to the cafeteria line. For her friend's obvious assurance of the supposed perfection of the plan she was dreaming about, she had lived with Mai long enough to understand that she should rightly feel an uncomfortable twinge of foreboding. Being well-assured was all well and grand, but being ~too~ sure of yourself could lead to some nasty situations. And Mai tended to get herself into those often enough.  
  
Oh dear, she ~hoped~ Mai wasn't planning on doing anything illegal!  
  
"So . . . what do you plan on doing?" Rei said finally, trying to look open- minded with a face masking her doubts. However, this just made her eyes grow too large, her mouth set too small, and overall, a very weirdly guilty look. Flattening her layered hair nervously, she glared slightly at Mai's distinctly amused expression at her antics and her gaze turned out to be startlingly maniacal through darkly penciled eyes and lashes.  
  
"Don't worry, dear, I've been scouting around for the local hang-outs all week," she started. Rei was wondering what shady means she had used to find time for this 'scouting,' but honestly, she had to admit that Mai found efficient ways to accomplish her wants through ways many that Rei had yet to discover. "and it turns out that there's this little club down on 23rd. Live music and stuff."  
  
At Rei's startled look, Mai quickly assured "But no alcohol! It's targeted entirely to a high-school crowd!" /Or so I think./  
  
The newly introduced to the wonderful world of womanhood, relaxed slightly with a sigh, but still sat as tense as she would if she were bracing herself for a nearby plane crash. She was still a bit unsure not-so-deep into her cinnamon eyes.  
  
"Oh yeah!" Tea came up, carrying a plain sack that the school's bagged lunches inhibited. "I heard a few people from my Studio ((AN - Dance studio)) talking about going there last week."  
  
"What did they say about it?" Mai urged eagerly, shooting Rei a glance that distinctively expressed the famous /I told you so/.  
  
Tea shrugged absently, opening her single-serving milk-carton.  
  
"They seemed to have had a good time."  
  
Rei felt her neck slacken dubiously, as she looked appraisingly to the ground for support. She ~really~ didn't want to go and abandon a quiet reading heaven for something plainly loud, irritating, and unusual, but she didn't want to disappoint Mai either.  
  
"C'mon, it's not like I've gotten you into any trouble before!" Mai said with amusement, above her humbled head.  
  
She heard Tea laugh, too "Oh, lighten up, Rei!"  
  
/I thought I had already lightened up enough!/ it was hard enough to not act like the cautious Ryou as constantly as was natural for her, and she was trying so hard . . . and yet she knew she wasn't nearly as outspoken and free as her clothing suggested. /Oh dear./  
  
Finally, she sighed, absently turning her gaze up and around, and abruptly, her half-glance at the clock finally registered.  
  
"Oh no!" Rei moaned, shoving her things violently back into her JanSport while her two companions jumped in their seats from her unexpected viciousness, and looked to each other for an explanation.  
  
Her shoulders began to ache dully again from the unexpected weight of four textbooks hanging off of her back.  
  
"I have to get to my study group in English," she said in a quietly feeble manner "I'll see you guys later."  
  
She strode with a quickened pace out of the wild cafeteria.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"As we look at theorem 1-3, we can assume that applying it to example 3 would leave angle 'a' as what measurement . . . ?"  
  
The balding man's lesson was boring, yet informative, and that gave her enough reason to keep rapt attention to his lecture. Her notes were messy, but they made sense to her, and that was all that mattered.  
  
/Hopefully Mai won't ask to borrow them./  
  
She doodled around the binder holes framing the left side of her paper to dull down her pencil. It was too sharp, and she wasn't that precise with her handwriting to make it look good.  
  
Mai's voluminous curls obscured her from the direct gaze of their math teacher, so she shifted as the girl in front of her stretched luxuriously, and apparently, on purpose.  
  
A neatly folded note labeled "/Rei/" was deposited on her desk.  
  
Looking around as an extra precaution, she unfolded it very carefully so that no one would notice the sound. Inside, the message was simple:  
  
"/So how about tonight?/"  
  
Biting her lip, she recorded her daring decision, swiftly.  
  
"/Sure/"  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
A convenient parking spot was spotted by Rei about a block away from their destination. It was about 7:30 or so, and the sky was gigglishly pink from the current sunset. She shivered as a weak, but chilled, zephyr prodded her warmth, and her patience.  
  
Despite her apparent calm, Rei knew Mai was painfully excited for their outing. She had even insisted that they change their outfits for things a little more stylish, and Rei had to put up with even MORE sparkles and make- up on her face. Even in the dull lamplight, every time she moved, little flashes darted around the edges of her vision; taunting.  
  
"Have you ever seen a live band before?" Mai asked suddenly.  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
She smiled.  
  
"I think you'll have fun, then."  
  
Rei doubted that statement when she thought about her boots that were still not broken in yet. The laced-up wonders fit her length-wise, but were too wide for her bony ankles and feet. She knew there would be some blisters there soon enough.  
  
The rest of her outfit consisted of a redish-purple pleated skirt, that waved in silky splendor behind her thighs. Her top was orange, as Mai seemed to have an odd fixation with seeing Rei in orange, and just a simple, form hugging top. Her orange eye-shadow was so thick, she was seeing the world framed in a distinctly orange hue, and Mai had added sparkles of the same hue as her skirt over the orange. Two loose and splintering pig-tails protruded from her head.  
  
Mai was a little less odd, and a bit more natural in her clothing choice. Abandoning her normal tight mini-skirt, she adopted one that was easy- flowing, and looked a great deal more comfortable. The skirt was a bright peppermint green, that matched her sparkling strapped heels and hung with a delicate ring of matching lace at the hem. She wore fishnet stockings to humble her cut legs, but her top was of the same mold as the outfit she wore back in Duelist Kingdom; a cute white peasant top that revealed her collarbone.  
  
The sign faded into sight, shedding a reddish hue around the decrepit sidewalk as the handful of weeds drooped over the curb to their eventual doom. Rei walked a little closer to Mai's side, as if she wandered closer, some of her famous self-assurance would rub off.  
  
Tilting her head to the glowing sign, Rei choked slightly at the name of inscribed clearly on the partial-metal-sculpture.  
  
'The Sanctuary'. How ridiculously ironic.  
  
She quickened her pace to the obvious wooden entrance, and held the door open for Mai before entering herself.  
  
The first thing that hit her was the smell.  
  
Apparently too strong to be soaked by anything other than incense, the fumes hit her like a ton of bricks, putting a hippie store to shame. It was warm and oddly comforting, considering that Rei had never really cared for incense, but with the sparse warm lights and a great deal of dark wood, it seemed natural.  
  
Thankfully, she didn't sneeze. But her eyes ~did~ water enough to slightly distort her vision.  
  
It was a small place, with a high ceiling sprinkled with warm-hue lights that shined lazily. Most of the light was a contribution from the yellow stage-lights off to her right, but the mismatched band was taking a break for that moment; chugging down sparkling water and oblivious to onlookers.  
  
'The Sanctuary' was probably a bar at one point, complete with a mirror- lined counter, and matching stools. It had character despite it's rather worn appearance, with a retro curve rather than straight and traditional. A few thin people around their early 20s were chattering coolly.  
  
Near the counter, there were wooden tables and chairs as well as a few booths for people to sit and drink in relaxation. But the stage was attended by huge couches, which were quite ugly, and looked very comfortable. Rei twitched in her uncomfortable boots just by looking at them.  
  
She made her way to an unoccupied monstrosity (a big green chair, actually), with Mai gladly following her lead to sit down to a more comfortable position. The band was strapping on their guitars and picking up their drumsticks again, so they turned to watch them play.  
  
Strangely, the amplifiers were set so it was hard to understand what the man talking into the microphone was saying, but they just nodded and clapped with the rest of them. Melting back and nodding to their set tempo, the man said something to his three band-mates before they started.  
  
Rei was unprepared for how ~wonderful~ it sounded . . . with the bass, with the drums. CDs didn't capture that chest-pounding experience.  
  
But even that natural gritty-ness couldn't conceal that most of the band- members were quite bad at what they did.  
  
"They're awful." Mai commented, her handbag resting on her knee. Truth to be told, it didn't look like many of the others around them were paying much attention to the live band.  
  
"Yeah." She agreed, relaxing into the incense-soaked couch. Unfortunately, large couches like these were not particularly made for skinny people, and she soon found herself easily enveloped into the cushion. Thrashing with muffled protests, she managed to avoid sinking entirely, but she still glared at the offending pillows.  
  
"The only one holding them together is the drummer!" Rei commented, punching the pillows.  
  
"Oooooooh, he's kinda cute, too!" the blonde giggled, feeling easily like her old self again. Rei sighed. "But those sunglasses . . . why? He looks so calm and collected, but you can't even see if his eyes are as pretty as the rest of him is!"  
  
Mai got frustrated over the most trivial of things, didn't she?  
  
Rei tilted her head to the side and smoothed her skirt as she examined the drummer a little better. Even sitting she could tell he was quite tall and skinny, with a thin face and straight brown hair that dusted the top of his sunglasses, the middle of his ears, and the back of his neck with sweat- dripped swipes.  
  
His expression was concentrated, but emotionless. /Almost like . . . /  
  
"He almost has that Kaiba look about him." Said Mai.  
  
Rei felt a jolt of realization. /Oh god./  
  
"But Mai, that IS Seto Kaiba!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Oooooooh, plot twist ^^ Sounds like the perfect setting for further "Mai- mischief," huh?  
  
If you have any suggestions, ideas, or just want me to write faster, I would greatly appreciate reviews! Really . . . 'cuz I'm not ~entirely~ dead.  
  
*cackles* Oh god, Catholic school's going to be a blast ^^  
  
giggleplex 


	17. Bakura's Way

(I understand that the doc manager is being really screwy right now, mainly with the ""s and such. Just try to ignore it for now, please!)  
  
Disclaimer: *prods with stick* SAY IT!!!  
  
Man with Needles: Huh?  
  
*snaps needles* Not so tough without your needle, ARE WE?!  
  
Man with Confiscated Needles: *gulps* Um . . . yeah. Right. This head-case doesn't own such an influential program for young teens all around the world, and if she did, we have established that she would do something ~dreadful~ with social commentary . . .  
  
^______________^ *adopts Irish accent* Kubrick is me idol!  
  
Well Dressed Lawyer: You do not own Kubrick. You do not own Beck.  
  
Right! I don't own Beck's "Sea Change". I nearly forgot! ^^;;;  
  
Well Dressed Lawyer: *pulls out paper*  
  
What the hell is this?!  
  
Neostar: *smacks a few lawyers with Mallet-sama* ^____________^  
  
*giggles* Thank you!  
  
Responses:  
  
summer psycho – Oh dear . . . *blushies* Arigato, friend! *huggles psycho* I took your suggestion to heart, and faithfully, here are a few scenes from everyone's favorite insane tomb robber . . . both of them, actually ^^;;; I hope I will continue to sustain your interest ^^ Tell me what you think of my OOC Bakura!  
  
Ryou's Gal - *nodnod* Absolutely insane. Don't ask what I was thinking when I made Kaiba a drummer . . . I don't knoe--know. I connot tell you when Rei/Ryou turns back ^^ But I will say that it'll be a while.  
  
R Amethyst – Going for the dangerous bishies? *grins dreamily* But Kenshin is SO adorable! Not Battousai Kenshin, he's freaky (I don't understand those fangirls at all), but sweet, laundry-happy, no-kill, "ororororororo?" Kenshin. ^_________^ Soujiro smiles . . . too much. It freaks me out more than his dub-voice *shudder*. You think Mai/Kaiba, huh? I dunno . . . yet ^^;;; I'm so sad! I was going to pair one of them up with Joey, but we'll see.  
  
Lyn/Lin – Excellent *rubs hands together*  
  
Yami Krissy - *claps* YAY for the microphone ^^ *giggles* However, I unintentionally made this an entirely Yami Bakura chapter . . . stupid giggleplex. Hope you like it anyway ^^;;;  
  
Shenya – I hope this is soon enough . . . I swear, I am so lazy right now! I'm trying to catch up in my algebra on my own this summer, because I'm taking trig next year; two years before it is normally introduced o.O I'm pathetic. AND suicidal.  
  
Rosz of the Angel – I know how you feel with the whole biology thing. I'm taking three honor's classes next year, and I've been dreading it all summer. ^^;;; However, that had nothing to do with my horrible laziness in getting the last chapter up. I'm just glad that you guys still remember me! The deal I was thinking with Shadi is that he has been the sort of "Yami" among an entire line of sons originating from his original body back in Egypt. Since the soul pushed out of the way has never really gained control of his body, if it were to, it would probably have the intelligence of a very small child.  
  
Kaiba could be a wonderful musician ^^ My mother used to be a music teacher, and she developed this program that incorporated math into music, while learning the piano. Most left-brained children are actually very gifted in music (I went to an art's school for 3 years; I have experience). And since Seto Kaiba was adopted into a very high-class family, I believe regular music-lessons were inevitable in his life. And you know him, he is SO yearning to be a rebel. He's such a nerd!!!  
  
Thank you for the compliment. I was thinking that most of my dialogue has been very choppy, of one-idea sentences. I tried to patch it up a little in this chapter, and I hope it worked ^^ See ya!  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Anybody a Beck fan around here?! *crickets chirp* I guess not . . . all of the songfics around here are googoo doll-based, Linkin Park-based, or even . . .  
  
*stabs Avril Lavigne doll*  
  
Beck is the COOOOOOLEST though! Everyone should download a song, or buy a CD. He's a wonderful musician; unlike anyone you have ever heard before, I insist. His lyrics are odd, but strangely make sense. For example;  
  
"Treated you like a rusty blade a throw away from an open grave cut you loose from a chain-gang and let you go."  
  
". . . who would ever be so cruel blame the devil for the things you do it's such a selfish way to lose way to lose these wasted blues these wasted blues . . . "  
  
- "Nobody's Fault but My Own"  
  
And come on. Anyone with their first hit entitled; "Loser" appeals to most people around here. I strongly recommend you check him out sometime; it'll open up your mind, man. ^^  
  
Naturally, the song Yami Malik's singing is a Beck one; a beautiful, depressing melody from his latest CD; "Sea Change". The CD that proves the only way to have sadness, is to have beauty.  
  
If you are interested at all in Beck's works, I would go to amazon.com; they have samples of some of his songs when you look under his individual CDs. If you want to be happy, start under "Midnite Vultures". If you want to hear something melodic, look under "Mutations". If you want to hear something a little more main-stream, try "Odelay". And finally, if you want to hear something depressing, look at "Sea Change".  
  
Please try it the next time you're bored! ^^  
  
Now, onto the ficlet . . .  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
--Flashback--  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
/Where are you where are you why can't I find you . . . /  
  
He had curled himself into a knot of misery, eyes pressing into the knees that were masked by neatly pressed slacks and malnutrition. Stars danced and fell lazily around the view of his closed eyelids, but no matter how much he said, how much he cried, how much he cursed the little specks, they never answered his questions.  
  
The carpet crawled between his bare toes and stroked the tender skin surrounding his toenails with scratchy strokes as he rocked himself back and forth, back and forth.  
  
/ . . . come back come back I'm so lonely . . . /  
  
Though these thoughts that were racing through his mind were so hard to admit before, even to himself, he found himself riding their urgency to all probable possibilities of ~where~ he went, and ~why~ he--  
  
/Oh Ra my god whathaveIdone?!/  
  
Only now was the infamous tomb robber, blinded by obsession of revenge for as long as was important, understanding enough to realize his mistakes.  
  
But Ryou was not dead. Not yet, anyway.  
  
Something had happened when he disappeared from Malik's home that morning two weeks ago, and disappeared entirely he did. An event so startlingly peculiar, that the boy's entire existence was erased from the soul room in his own body, but the body ~was not dead~. Yami Bakura was the only one who inhabited it now.  
  
He had never dreamed of anything like this happening. He rocked back and forth, back and forth.  
  
/Come back come back . . . come back it hurts it hurts/  
  
No matter how ridiculous it should seem, after thousands of years, a lost and confused little boy had come back to life. He hadn't really lived after his presence at the destruction of his home. Just existed.  
  
Living was highly over-rated, and though the sudden assault of smells, tastes, and the loss of encountered resistance should have been enticing to a power-hungry soul that had dreamed of such a chance for so long, but it had just left him feeling lonely.  
  
Vaguely he registered a presence nearing his Hikari's old and otherwise deserted house, and easily passing the creaky front door cautiously. He didn't mind right now, he knew it wasn't Ryou, so why bother.  
  
A strong voice, slightly faded and watered-down with distance sang with an echoing quality that warmed the ears, warmed the soul.  
  
"Time wears away, all the puzzles of the day . . . all the treasures," hum "you could hold."  
  
It was familiar, but due to the strange distraction aching in his stomach and sickening sensation spreading throughout his head, he couldn't recall the reason he thought he heard it before. His head was spinning, that he could tell, even if his eyes were shut tightly, tight enough to block out others.  
  
"Days turn to black, in the light of what they lack, nothing's mea-sured . . . anymore."  
  
A repeat of the first line's melody gave the tone a slightly insistent feeling.  
  
"/No, no, just go away . . . /" Bakura croaked, his throat parched with lack of use. He could barely hear it himself, and he burrowed himself further into the mistaken sanctity of his knees.  
  
"Already dead to me now."  
  
"/I deserve to die, I did die, so what's wrong with me?/"  
  
"Already dead to me now."  
  
Then, quite abruptly, Bakura sat up with amazing alertness, considering his situation just a moment before, and the haunting melody rose to a dearly sad note that made his insides churn. The door that stood guard of his little room opened without much of a fight, and light spilled in.  
  
It was like a burst of the sun, a silent explosion that surrounded a figure in the doorway, with hair that seemed the light itself, Though it burned his reddened eyes dry, the image was too beautiful to let go, it was like a morning at home . . .  
  
Home was so far lost, now.  
  
"Because it ~feels~ like I'm watching something . . . die-ing."  
  
The song was unresolved, but the person singing it sighed nonetheless, finally looking at the pathetic soul torturing himself with doubt on the ground. It was Malik, or rather, Yami Malik; scarred and frowning.  
  
"What the hell happened to you?" he asked stiffly, flipping his blonde hair over his shoulder. On his face was left a serious expression, something Yami Bakura rarely ever saw on the normally overly happy comrade.  
  
Bakura's hair was normal, but his eyes were bloodshot, and since his irises were still a deep burgundy color, more red than brown, it was a startling appearance.  
  
He stared at him for a moment, his neck oddly craned forward like a nocturnal rodent's, his eyes large with confusion.  
  
"Too much." He whispered, lowering his head and letting his long bangs obscure his expression. Swallowing was very difficult, but his throat was extremely dry. He coughed anyway.  
  
Yami Malik looked onto him, startled into showing it plainly on his face. The other ancient spirit was talking as if he hadn't for days, and his back was shaking like he was . . . crying? He had never cried before, in Yami Malik's recollection.  
  
Instinctively, his heart pulled him down, and placed his hand gently on Bakura's back in what he vaguely remembered as a comforting motion. He didn't remember Egypt as well as he should have, but he remembered this, and very hard-to-place feelings that haunted his memories. Perhaps they were lovers once, but it was a faint, and very fleeting experience. He rubbed his back.  
  
"He's gone." The white-haired one said through sniffs.  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Yami Malik was never the comforting type "Gotta get over it. He'll come back; you're connected."  
  
"No!" he abruptly shoved his arm off his back and looked at him with, a glare? No, something along the lines of anger, but gilded in absolute hopelessness, and his voice reflected the same startling passion.  
  
Bakura wobbled a bit, but managed up with the shaking support of a nearby antique cabinet. Reaching out for the dagger, or a sharp letter opener (as Ryou's memories insisted), he picked it up, and turned with determination to the imposter who didn't understand.  
  
Feeling even the thin, weak grip of something more ornamental than anything, as comforting and familiar as the memory of his own dagger, he sliced, and nicked his finger enough to allow a few droplets of blood through.  
  
Yami Malik stared.  
  
"Oh . . . my god."  
  
"He's gone."  
  
"There must be some kind of mistake--"  
  
"And who could have made that mistake?" demanded Bakura, turning away weakly, but angrily.  
  
"The gods."  
  
Even under madly tangled bangs, the glare was flashing and burning with great force of eternal suffering. The fires flashed through his mind, everything ablaze; his humble home, his belongings, his ~mother~. /Ninety- nine sacrifices./  
  
" . . . I stopped believing in gods a long time ago. When they forsake me, I renounce them."  
  
Malik looked understanding, but even he understood that it was not a matter to push, because he had never experienced something so terrible.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
--End Flashback--  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"I didn't need your help." Yami Bakura commented. Sitting determined, millennia of discipline allowed him to look thoughtful and menacing without fidgeting. The result was a very intimidating look that burned where he chose to place it.  
  
"Really," Yami Malik responded sarcastically, disappearing behind a mass of mismatched, worn books. A few golden hairs and shuffling were all that alerted anything to his presence, and he pulled himself back up with his hands on his knees, carrying a few choice books back to the rickety old table.  
  
Bakura just glared; sitting perfectly still besides his eyes, which were following the blonde easily and smoothly as he chose a spot to sit on the other side of the table. He gave no further notice to the skilled tomb- robber, who had reverted to a self-assured slouch in the chair, crossed lanky legs, and thin arms framed with wirey muscles crossed across his chest.  
  
The storage room was plain, besides the sea of books, barely illuminated by a single light-bulb that hung precariously over the creaky wooden table. That was what the room was used for; all of Isis' books that she had collected for the further examination in her ancient studies. Though no one doubted that she had read each book at least twice, Isis was the queen of clutter outside of her home (which she often blamed on her brother to tidy up, whenever possible). She was one of the most understanding when it came to the theories in human behavior, but sadly, her council for a better, peaceful world seemed to always overlook ~her~ existence.  
  
Luckily, Isis didn't guard the keys very effectively either. ~Especially~ for the resident tomb robber.  
  
Yami Malik was annoyed. By the coolness of the room, by the dust slowly snowing on his usually pristine hair, but especially because of the white- haired spirit--wait, /high-school student/ that had been glaring at him icily throughout the entire, unfavorable experience.  
  
"For the love of ~RA~ you stupid thief! You would have died if it weren't for me!" he finally snapped, matching the look.  
  
Bakura still stared, unfazed.  
  
"You know it's true," the blonde hissed, snapping the book on his lap shut "you were starving yourself, and the only reason you hadn't died before then, was because you were drawing energy from your own life force! You think I don't know that?!"  
  
He flinched back, as the comment registered deeply in his mind. "And why would you care?!"  
  
Yami Malik finally looked at him, his lovely eyes twisted with surprise. After a moment of pause, he leaned forward with an almost concerned look, but his hair skillfully obscured any sense of weakness. Even amongst themselves they could never be weak, as it was a cruel, cruel world where they came from, crueler than it seemed.  
  
"How could you say that?" he asked quietly "I don't know about you, but human companionship is something I have missed greatly over the millennia, even semi-human.  
  
"And if you haven't guessed it yet, you're the closest thing to a friend I have."  
  
Bakura sneered at his uncharacteristically tender moment, and averted his gaze to something much more interesting; his fingertips.  
  
Yami Malik, after pausing to roll his eyes and make a profound sound of disgust, continued to a level that he knew was necessary for Bakura to listen.  
  
"No wonder your dear little Hikari left you." He continued flipping pages.  
  
The other boy's eyes flashed to a particularly dangerous level, radiating the pain of loss, as it was the type of pain that overshadowed everything else. For a split second he appeared old, and very weary through his usually unbreakable façade, and he lowered his head, beaten by the mention of a child, and tossed his hair among itself in ugly surrender.  
  
"We're looking for something to your benefit, you know. Not necessarily Ryou Bakura's, but yours all the same."  
  
Bakura picked up a book. The English translations were easy to read when he could tap into Ryou's stored memories so easily, but they gave off a bitter sense of nostalgia in a faded glaze when he read them. His Hikari had the clearest memories, but though he gained everything he needed to continue Ryou's schooling, his memories were incomplete. He hid so much, and Bakura would probably never be able to discover every dark secret.  
  
But he didn't mind as much as he suspected he would, as his Hikari had unknowingly humbled him through his constant skittishness.  
  
They were not his to see.  
  
The text of that particular book seemed useless for the purposes of "seeking" and "recovering", so he picked up his magic-warmed ring for temporary amusement. Unfortunately, it didn't amuse him as much as it usually did, and his thoughts began straying back to the useless text. Not the purpose, just the neatly printed letters, somewhat resembling the neat penmanship that haunted his dreams, haunted his consciousness . . .  
  
/a, b, c, d, e . . . g--f, g/ Augh!  
  
His treasure, his beautiful gold thing, that located the forms of his heart's desires; gold, silver, and jewels. It had never failed him before, and yet . . .  
  
Pausing at the ceiling with a frown, he let the bangles on the ring dangle over his fingers limply. /And yet you could never help me locate the greatest treasure of all./  
  
He gave no outside signal of his thoughts, but Ishtal understood. It was just Bakura's way.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Well, that's all there is to it for now. Word is telling me that there are 3000+ words in this chapter, so Mai and Rei are coming back next chappie, 'kay? Remember; Beck. Not Jeff Beck, just Beck. Way cool.  
  
Any suggestions will always be heeded and personally responded to. You guys rock *sobs*  
  
It's so pretty . . . you know you want to click on that little review button, doncha?!  
  
^^  
  
See you in . . . two weeks, or less than a week (my softball team is going to the National tournament in Missouri next week)  
  
Toodles!  
  
giggleplex 


	18. Caught in the Act

Disclaimer: If I owned YGO, you would see a scene with Tea kicking some serious ass, and Yugi would wear glasses. ^^ There is just something SO adorable about imagining Yugi-chan in glasses!  
  
AND NOW, more Mai and Rei, wrecking havoc on the world . . . namely; Seto- chan!  
  
Review Responses:  
  
*R Amethyst - Yeah, everyone just likes to pick on poor Baku-chan, but we LUV him all the same, right? ^^ Hey, thanks for the encouragement! Soujiro is a lot like Ryou, and that's probably why there's so much angst involved with him. I haven't found any good Ryou-centered stories that don't involve some form of angst, or another. Maybe I should give him a shiny katana *drools* Not in this story, though*coughs*  
  
*Yami Krissy - Aw . . . *pouts* You took him away from me! Oh well, I still have . . . *grins* Kuja from FFIX, Legato from Trigun, Aoshi from RK, Kenshin from RK (nrr), and YUE-CHAN FROM CCS!!! *glomps Yue* Yes, I am going through a mild obsession right now ^^;;; Oh yeah, and Hotohori-sama from Fushigi Yuugi.  
  
Mai and Rei's adventures amused me greatly throughout this chapter. I have no idea why. *looking lost* Thanks for the luck for the tournament! I was pitching pretty well; one game was a two-hitter, and another was a four- hitter. Way cool!  
  
*Summer Psycho - Better than published works *blushies* That has to be the nicest compliment I've ever heard! Oh my *huggles Psycho* Thank you just isn't enough. I'm glad you liked the Kaiba musician thing--he just TOTALLY looks like an anti-social drummer type, doesn't he?  
  
Unfortunately (but not for long once you realize my plans *twiddles thumbs*), it's going to get a lot more cliché from here. However, my challenge is to make it almost so cliché, it's not ^^ Tell me if it's still working!  
  
*Shenya - Teehee, gotta love the misunderstood ones, don't we? ^^ I'm really sorry, but--no Bakura in this chapter *runs and hides*  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mai's esoteric-shaped eyes narrowed immediately, fixated on the handsome drummer with a new-found purpose. Her companion watched her expectantly with a faint blush and hoping that she wasn't mistaken; that would be rather embarrassing, truth to be told. Bored, wandering shadow shapes danced faintly across Mai's lovely face and shielded her olive-toned complexion from the unsavory, yet mood appropriate, spotlights.  
  
"No . . . wait! It IS him!" her laugh was strong and oddly frightening, Rei knew just how intimidating it was to be on the other end of the cackle "Shit, this is ironic . . . "  
  
A few of the surrounding people looked quizzically at the girl's abrupt reaction, though they didn't guess the purpose of her helpless mirth. Rei did her best to ignore the stares as well as Mai was.  
  
But she felt their eyes on them. It was rather disconcerting.  
  
As Mai's voice died down to a mischievously sly level, her eyes betraying that she was pondering, or rather, 'scheming' to someone's misfortune, Rei began to realize the whole absurdity of the situation.  
  
Here he was; Mr "I Don't Have Time For That", mingling among the fools. And ~enjoying~ it.  
  
Ryou could honestly claim that he had never actually 'liked' Seto Kaiba, careless prick that he was. Mokuba often seemed a bit frightened by the white-haired boy, which he attempted rewardingly to ignore, however that alone was enough reason for him to stay as clear as possible from the Kaibas' presence. And though he would infinitely deny it, Rei knew that Seto Kaiba was as ignorant as his school-peers on nearly all matters besides his job--and chess of course.  
  
The thought made her smile wryly.  
  
Finishing of the last song with a cymbal-induced flourish, the drummer paused, wiping off glittering sweat from his brow. It was an oddly dignified scene, and flattered his image enough that a few catcalls raucously echoed in his obvious direction.  
  
Kaiba nodded with his face still an unreadable mask, and with the grim efficiency of an experienced and successful businessman, he exited backstage as his band-mates followed sullenly.  
  
"Oh, we just ~can't~ pass this opportunity up!" Mai noted with a great deal of evilness evident in her tone.  
  
Rei's insides froze, somewhat unsurprised that Mai wouldn't be satisfied with the simple knowledge. She just wasn't subtle with knowledge worthy of revenge, and with that realization, Rei sighed, shaking her head so that her recently shorted pig-tails swayed in agitation to mirror her own.  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
The blonde didn't answer immediately, but began muttering under her breath things that Rei wasn't sure she wanted to hear, anyway.  
  
"Let's see . . . " her blonde curled were thrown over her shoulder carelessly, as her curvy figure swiveled in her seat. Then she pointed at a door in the corner "There! I think we need to pay our friendly acquaintance a pleasant visit, don't you think?"  
  
Rei looked at her as if she had grown an extra head.  
  
"Wait," she rushed "don't answer that."  
  
After the almost ceremonious milling of the crowd about them, and the mingling of conversation falling down to let the recorded music take over, the two girls got up casually, and fought through the masses. Customers seemed particularly inclined to stand where they were, and damned hard to move aside too, so it took them a few minutes just to get to the other side of the room. Rei gave one last glare at the arrogant and quite oblivious customers, but she knew that she shouldn't blame them as it was a Friday, and no one should deny them the right to enjoy themselves.  
  
She turned to Mai with a twisting sense of foreboding. Her assured grin was of the contagious type, but after taking a quick glance of the door in their path, all she could manage was a shaky sort of smile.  
  
The lights and laughs were much more animated than them, but they held the most sense of purposeful power in the room, even if most didn't bother to notice. Rei fingered the charmed choker around her neck, with a grimly hesitant look.  
  
"You do realize that the door is clearly marked 'employees only', right?"  
  
"Hey, what's the worst that can happen?!"  
  
"Those have to be the most infamous 'last words' I can come up with."  
  
And Mai just summed up her policy in one, simple word.  
  
" . . . So?"  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
They entered the 'off limits' area without disturbance, and absolutely no one was even in the vicinity. There were no windows and few lights down these halls; the large gray bricks illuminated with unnatural yellow light.  
  
Rei's attention was constantly alert for anyone who might see them. From what she figured from before, employees of the club dressed in an all black uniform, that although was not entirely ~abnormal~, would make an unsavory contrast to the two girls' outfits.  
  
She had hoped they would be in, out, and on with life quickly, but Mai seemed so cautious on this aspect of their mission, even after fifteen minutes, they hadn't chose a door yet.  
  
Every little sound seemed more startling by the second, and Rei, who was certain their luck wouldn't last for long, jump at unexpected echoes.  
  
Mai was ignoring her and her quiet pleas for a more rapid decision, as she set her tongue between her teeth and examined each door closely. Rei saw her lean in to listen behind one, as her agitated friend immediately situated herself in a defensive position, not that it would help if someone actually came down the halls and noticed their intrusion. She shuddered to think of what ~that~ might mean.  
  
Suddenly, the blonde snapped back up with a smile. Rei actually yelped in startled surprise, before clutching at her chest as if to slow the beats of her heart.  
  
"Ready?" Mai mouthed, looking like a cat who caught the rat; very pleased with herself.  
  
/I doubt I'll ever be ready./ oh yes, that nice vision of herself curled up with a book seemed quite favorable at that moment--  
  
The blonde duelist didn't wait for a reply. Rei's entire body went rigid as the other girl knocked three times--three, squarely landing blows--that sounded ominously through the deserted hallway. Rei hugged her arms to below her chest, and gulped nervously.  
  
"Candy Gram!" she crowed.  
  
The white haired bishojo shook her head at Mai's unfailing outtake on humor, even if it was hard to guess otherwise.  
  
"Do you think he's actually stupid enough to open the door?" she whispered as quietly as she could manage. Mai was looking satisfied again, and didn't look away from the door.  
  
"Stupid, no. Ignorant enough not to know the difference, yes."  
  
The door opened abruptly, without preamble.  
  
Rei choked in surprise, which eventually led her into a mad coughing fit, hanging onto Mai's shoulder just to stay upright. Mai looked vaguely pouty and put-out that it shattered all chances of looking intimidating in the face of the teenage CEO. After a while of silence only tainted by Rei's coughs, Mai looked down at her without moving her head, and helped her face forward.  
  
She stopped coughing.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
He wandered again, but with more of a purpose than his previous attempt, keeping his startlingly dispassionate face hidden to the realities. His gaze was masked as well, but he seemed to know where he was going.  
  
It appeared, as expected, but before it could be allowed to come up with some witty comment, he spoke first.  
  
"I have come for answers."  
  
"So you have." The voice was calm, understanding the importance of the situation "I trust you have accepted the truth of your mistake?"  
  
"I make no mistakes."  
  
"Really, now."  
  
Both of them had placed their barriers up to the extreme, and betrayed nothing through their smooth tones and imagined gestures. Sensing the tension in one another, they both became immediately wary.  
  
Without taking notice of the Change of Heart's sarcastic reply, Shadi spoke again, his blank blue eyes dulled and staring.  
  
"The Eye, you say the Hikari of the Ring has the Eye."  
  
"Indeed." She bowed her head curtly.  
  
"Why is it that I have not taken notice of such as this?" he made no gestures with his hands; they remained concealed under his voluminous sleeves. "Why has the Eye not forsaken a soul who holds no right to it?"  
  
"'Tis the will of the gods'" she quoted, rather amused.  
  
Shadi's lips tightened.  
  
"Of course, the Eye has never been too picky about it's users. Like the last such imposter, whose soul will forever be wandering and regretful of his mistakes.  
  
"The Eye IS the 'woman's item', after all." Her grin grew ironic.  
  
"The Hikari of the Ring is not a woman."  
  
"Perhaps." She looked behind him, finding the landscape a great deal more interesting than his accusations and false reassurances which held no power in her domain. He just hadn't noticed his impudence yet; he truly was a fool. "But a child, yes." A girl-child, under her influence.  
  
"I do not understand!"  
  
"There is much you do not understand." She told him, coldly. "Leave this place, now. Do not return."  
  
"Not before you tell me the ~true~ owner of the Millennium Eye."  
  
She stared at him, anticipating his exit.  
  
"I believe this matter is my business." He told her logically, but his superior tone never faded in the least.  
  
"No," she began, in unsuppressed rage "he who neglects ~feeling~ does not deserve the rights to such 'business'."  
  
And with that, she forcefully banished him from her realm, her Sanctuary, with so much power that Shadi did not regain consciousness in reality for three days after.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"So-o-o-o-o, um," Rei started, daring to break the uncomfortable silence as she tried to look animated and obvious while looking around. "nice place you've got here."  
  
She winced, after realizing a moment too late how stupid that sounded.  
  
Mai made a strangled noise in her throat, the only outside showing of embarrassment toward Rei's comment. Her eyes nearly looked pleading for her to stay quiet, and Rei immediately began to stare at the toes of her laced- up boots as her hands carefully folded onto the flowing, pleaded folds of her knee-high skirt.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" Seto Kaiba demanded to Rei before turning to Mai "What do you want, Valentine?  
  
She puffed herself up like a preening hen under his cold gaze, looking disgusted and disgruntled on his lack of manners. He was opposed to the girls in an old wooden chair; leaning over his black slacks and white work- shirt (with a studded belt that looked quite peculiar). His long legs were angled oddly, as if the chair was too short, and his arms rested comfortably balanced on his legs, whereas his face looked anything but comfortable.  
  
He didn't look too pleased with their intrusion, but he could hardly let two girls who knew his 'secret' go without consulting him first.  
  
Kaiba had foreseen something of the like happening, and had every intention to pay them as much as they needed to keep their mouths shut. He should have known it would be Valentine . . .  
  
"We just wanted to congratulate you on your awesome performance." Mai smiled, truthfully (/for once!/ Rei thought wildly), then continued "Even if your band totally ~sucked~."  
  
Yeah, she took her insults so skillfully, her tone was still that of her unexpected compliment.  
  
"How much money do you want." He growled dangerously low, and narrowing his eyes to infamous slits. Kaiba looked at the other girl, scrutinizing her closely, though neither females noticed.  
  
She looked so familiar somehow.  
  
"Money?!" Mai laughed "What do you think we are?! A ~charity~ case?! I think I've established myself well enough to do without your bribing, Kaiba. Oh, and I was wondering," she changed the subject seamlessly "where did you find your band, are they your bodyguards or something?"  
  
He said nothing.  
  
Rei looked at him in disbelief.  
  
"You mean I was right?" Mai asked, considerably amused by this new revelation "That's sad, Kaiba. Really sad."  
  
He rolled his eyes as if he were trying to ignore the two of them to his greatest potential. He leaned back, now, in a supposedly uncaring posture.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
He seemed to say it dramatically and tragically, like a spoiled child, sullen-faced after a temper tantrum.  
  
"Oh, just to talk."  
  
"Fine! You caught me! I don't admit to things such as this so easily, but you and your sidekick have won, and you can now go home, feeling satisfied with your amazing cleverness!"  
  
"Whoever said this was about winning?" spoke Rei, quietly.  
  
They looked at her, almost as if they had forgotten she was there. Mai quickly sputtered out a comment of assent.  
  
"Look," he leaned forward again, looking even more dangerous than before "I've had enough of your smart-assed comments about my--the band that I'm in. Besides, I doubt you could be considered any better."  
  
/Oh my, I never realized just how bad and pathetic he really sounds when defending something unexpected./ Rei felt almost sorry for him /He must rehearse his speeches or something . . . heh. But that was DEFFIDENTLY the ~wrong~ thing to say to Mai Valentine./  
  
She stood up.  
  
It was the angriest she had ever seen her, ~truly~ angry, rather than appearing simply taken aback in thwarted disappointment. No, Mai was mad.  
  
A mad woman, who could have easily taken out Seto Kaiba at that moment, with more that just words.  
  
"As a matter of fact, I'm ~much~ better at playing bass than your paid cronies, you jackass!" she shrieked.  
  
"Hn." Kaiba smirked "If you're so good, let's hear you then."  
  
"Fine! Next Saturday! We'll see who's smiling then!"  
  
"Not that the bass really takes much talent at all--"  
  
"Cut the crap." She huffed.  
  
"Alright Valentine. Meet me at my home at 11 AM next Saturday."  
  
"If I'm good enough for you, we'll start a band."  
  
"Agreed."  
  
Rei paused quizically for a second; that was a complete change of subject. Were they conscious of it?  
  
"Though it's not as if we can field a band with only a bass and a set of drums . . . "  
  
"Then Rei can sing!"  
  
/ . . . Is that what I thought I heard./  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
Said girl fell down, overbalanced with a dizzy, sinking feeling. Her anger flared up /Why are they talking about me like I'm not here?/ she thought miserably, knowing that she would not get out of this predicament.  
  
The clash of egos. Rei gulped.  
  
Her eyes were swirly as her body went as limp as a rag-doll's.  
  
/--S-sing?--/  
  
Meanwhile, the other two heartless souls were casually discussing her doom as if it were a perfectly normal idea.  
  
/--I can't sing--/  
  
"Fine."  
  
"FINE!" Mai bellowed.  
  
They stood silent for a moment as Rei was on the ground between them, looking drunk on the horrible, horrible ideas. Maybe it was just a bad dream . . . stuff like that happens in nightmares, right?  
  
Seto Kaiba walked purposefully over to a metal, all-purpose table, and easily opened his silver briefcase.  
  
/--can't sing--oh god--/  
  
After calmly sorting through a few folder's worth of papers, the young businessman straightened back up as he took out a packet delicately stuck together with a paper-clip, and handed it to the now considerably calmer blonde. Her sunset-shade violet eyes danced over the paper, and she giggled.  
  
"So ~that's~ what you keep in that briefcase," she smirked, wryly.  
  
He gave no notice that he had even heard her comment.  
  
"The parts are all there. Remember: 11 o'clock ~sharp~. I have no use for people who waste my time."  
  
With that, he strolled out of the room, briefcase in hand, blue coat flowing mysteriously behind him.  
  
Rei groaned, and fainted. Hard day.  
  
"Hey Rei, ready to--Rei?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Desperate times call for desperate intervention, especially when Ryou was so close to losing all control. Unfortunately, it wasn't really 'help' that he was given . . . "  
  
Whaddya think? New summary? I'm really bad at them, but the one I have up at the moment is probably the worst one possible.  
  
Of course, that's up to you guys ^^ Tell me what I should do, please?  
  
FF.net has been doing something funk-ay . . . that's why I waited so long to post up this chapter. Apparently, people around the site have been losing reviews, and I happen to be one of them ^^;;; I know, because I posted up a review on one of my stories to test out the theory, and I was never notified that it had gone through.  
  
Still *sniffle* I was so sad when I figured only ONE person reviewed on my last chapter of "'Rainbows", and I've consistently been getting at least ten per chapter in the past. Same instance with my new HP/YGO crossover. Maybe no one reviewed . . . but if you did, you might want to check if they're there anymore. Thanks!  
  
Yeah, I did get Rei's googly-eyed scene from Rurouni Kenshin ^^  
  
FLCL IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!  
  
^^  
  
If you haven't seen Furi Kuri, you MUST. It is so weird, and The Pillows did the soundtrack *starry eyed*  
  
*NOTICE*: I am in need of an OC! So I want YOU to help me out!  
  
Just leave a profile in your review. I would prefer if your character is a normal person--yourself, perhaps? Not a Mary-Sue, though. Just tell me about yourself like you are in real life (and make up a new name ^^)  
  
The 125th reviewer will be the person whose character I will add to my story. It won't be a specifically main character, mind you, but I just want to test out my writing skills on adding stuff about a person I don't know much about ^^ Of course, I doubt I will get to 125 reviews from this chapter . . .  
  
I would greatly appreciate your assistance on this matter!  
  
*goes back to listening to Pillows*  
  
Toodle-oo!  
  
giggleplex 


	19. Annoyance and Emotional Moments

~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sorry about the delay.  
  
X.X ------ giggle with all honor's classes  
  
Kuja: *prods giggle with stick*  
  
Anywho, besides writer's block, a fried brain, and an overly-packed schedule, I'm starting a new fic . . .  
  
Crowd: BOOOOOOOOOO!  
  
. . . But it's a joint fic, with Yami Krissy, and it's actually turning out okay, for the most part ^^ It's one of those freakish-AU types, if you know what I mean.  
  
Weeeeeeell, I hope someone is still reading this . . . *sighs* I've been working on it, really! And I intended this chappie to span even longer, but it was just how it all turned out.  
  
Huggles for Ice Blue X!!! She's one of the latest charies, who makes a brief cameo at the end of this chapter. However, this is not the last you'll be seeing of "Crystal" ~_^  
  
I hope this chapter isn't as horrible as I am lead to believe.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
*R Amethyst - WAIIIIIII! *huggles* I read part of your YYH fic, but I have had NO time to really finish it . . . *bristles* I shall, however! I SHALL! As for the OC thing, I'd just like to create a character off of a basis of another person, or another person's character. My OCs are very ordinary, and predictable. *sighs* Well, Bakura always seems to find the pointy objects anyway, so I suppose we shouldn't inspire any rebelliousness ^^;;;  
  
*Ri Ame Toraookami - Meep! Thank you for the compliment! ^^;;; I can see how you can lose such a screwy story as this one; I do it all the time, on better stories. Hmm . . . I still like your OC, so don't give up all hope, darling!  
  
*Cloak*and*Dagger/Aisha Outlaw - HA! I read both of your "new" chappies . . . although that was a while ago ^^;;; We seem to have common issues, ne? And as I said before; it takes me so long to get up chapters, that I don't mind if you review late! ^^;;; Ara--I'm glad you're not bored with this, yet!  
  
*Ice Blue X - *huggles* You're so coooool *goes starry-eyed* Yami-K's still in the midst of checking it out, but the new story is moving along, methinks *nodnod* I took a shot at you getting seriously pissed, because you remind me of a friend who has serious road-rage, even if she's a normally sweet person ^^ Sorry, you won't be this OOC for most of the story. I'll go for a more sarcastic sense of humor, and go from there ^^ Thank you!!! For everything!  
  
*Celes_C - *drools* Kaiba in a band is indeed, a very good mental-image. Lol! I don't know about Kimo, though!  
  
*Psychopathic Sixth Grader - Aw, thank you for the support, as far as the characters go. I was kinda wondering . . . heh, thanks for the bomb *cackles*  
  
Oli: O_O  
  
*Rowan and Sakura - lol! You guys are so amusing! ^^ Yesyes, but I'm not certain if Ryou was really ~ready~ to come into meaningful conversations, he seemed to have been doing alright, for the most part . . . but all of that is about to change, now . . . ^^  
  
*Rosz of the Angel - Heh, I was pretty proud of getting chapter 18 out, myself. I feel sorta weird about thanking god; but Catholic school inspires wariness, I suppose ^^ Rei means spirit?! That kicks ass! I'll have to mull on that a bit. Hmm *ponders*  
  
*Yami Krissy - Teehee, THANKIES! Oh yeah, and we're the best author ever! Even if we don't have a story yet!!! ^^ *clunks too*  
  
*Psychotic Seraph - Teehee! ^^ Thankyouthankyou!!! *huggles*  
  
*onlyHAUNTED - Heh, my mind wanders constantly, as well. Anywho, I hope you still remember me after all of that time . . . *crosses fingers*  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It sat on polished mahogany, sneering at her quietly and looking lazy. But she wasn't fooled, it would pounce soon enough.  
  
She tried not to show any weakness, and didn't dare break eye-contact with it; not daring to move or have her eyes move from it for even a split second. No, that would be ~dangerous~.  
  
Gulping, she reached her leg out carefully, and brought herself closer to it, looking as inconspicuous as possible.  
  
Another step.  
  
She was worried that she might be taking this a little too fast. Feeling a little sticky with nervous sweat, she--  
  
"REI! I've got some macaroni and cheese down here, are you hungry?!"  
  
--flopped to the ground in surprise.  
  
Rei righted herself without much hassle, glaring furiously at the innocent- looking packet on the table, her hands flexing as if she was dying to get them around it in a relatively destructive manner. With one last slight start in it's direction, she tore her gaze away and stalked out of the door.  
  
/This isn't working./ Rei thought spitefully /I can't ~believe~ Mai talked me into this!/  
  
It was already Wednesday of the next week, and she still hadn't brought herself to look at her vocal sheet music. Mai mentioned it sparingly in her everyday conversation, but it made the quiet girl feel beyond guilty each time.  
  
"Hey Rei," Mai said, balancing a large bowl of orange mush precariously in one hand, while placing the other one on her hip, oven mitt and all. "have you started on that song for Saturday yet?"  
  
"Yes." Rei responded quietly.  
  
"Oh, that's good then." The blonde didn't notice Rei looking down at her shoes, with her lips pursed, or her slightly narrowed eyes as she set down the steaming macaroni on the kitchen table. "I was just at the mall, and I bought the CD if you're interested." She offered "I had one of their CDs before, but this one is one of the earlier ones, I think."  
  
"Whatever . . . "  
  
"Hey," Mai put in, sounding concerned over her cheesy noodles "are you alright?"  
  
Rei's lip trembled in rage. This was all her fault. ~her fault~!  
  
"Never mind!" she hissed with venom, deliberately dropping her spoon so it made a vibrant staccato onto the bowl, causing Mai to flinch slightly. Gathering up herself morosely, she simply left the scene of the kitchen with a rushed pace.  
  
Mai's eyebrows rose considerably.  
  
"What's up with her?"  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The plastic case stuck a bit from little use, but clamping on it with two hands proved to be enough to convince it to compromise. The cover was white, with a little play of watercolors in the back, and two men drawn in black ink, looking as though they were playing ~hop-scotch~ of all things; Rei bristled at the absurd image and raised an eyebrow.  
  
And she thought of Kaiba as a practical fellow; ~honestly~.  
  
The inside of the CD packaging was a considerable contrast to the light exterior, cutting sharply to a night-sky design, that stretched to the back of the packet on the left, and the surface of the circular disc she was certain would span to her doom. Slipping out the companionable packet, and managing to take out the CD by awkwardly balancing the packaging between her wrists, she finally dropped it all on her bed, before seating herself next to it.  
  
From this view, she craned her thin torso to the player, opening it with a longer-than-necessary press down on the 'open' button, feeling oddly because she had never really played with the sort of thing seriously before. It wasn't that she preferred silence, it was just the only applicable thing for her more recent times . . .  
  
Hastily, she pushed the thought away quickly, forcing herself into a slightly disoriented haze before returning back to reality.  
  
Without further hassle, she placed the CD to it's docile perch, before pressing play while pushing herself back to her bed, staring at the ceiling as her shorn hair branched about her head on the comforter. It was still odd to have shorter hair.  
  
Rei pondered the feel of her head, hearing the soft intro to the song. Repetitive.  
  
While turning out to be quite loud, she felt--as though she were floating, caught up within the predominant bass part. Slowly, her constant anger ebbed, she felt her stomach relax, and the rhythmic patterns envelop her consciousness.  
  
But after three minutes without any vocals, she rightly decided to skip to the next song. Rei lurched forward, albeit a little dizzily, tousling her hair in the process before lashing out to use the 'skip' button, and the CD whirred inside, before settling back down to a more dark melody, starting with industrial-style themes.  
  
Rei lay back again, as she felt the soft mattress sway a bit before settling down slowly and seemingly dancing with the artistically muffled vocals. The voice was female, but she couldn't tell at all what she was saying in the quaint, calm little parts. Or in the entire song for that matter. The melody reminded her of gently stepping up stairs in a music-box interpretation that she found quite curious-sounding compared to the deep, dark resonance pounding through a majority of the time.  
  
/Wait, is that French?/ Furrowing her brows quizzically, she picked up the guide packet quickly, scanning the notes. According to the big, white, rounded letters, this was most diffidently NOT 'All I Need', as the label on the lyrics reminded her . . . but as the song faded and paused, she realized with a fidget that this next one ~was~.  
  
This song would be the end of her--she couldn't sing! Her eyes closed, her face pained, and yet she began to sway involuntarily as the song literally ~*swooped*~ in to a calm melody.  
  
There was simply an electric bass, and a whimsical acoustic guitar before another ~*swoop*~ seemed to conjure the sound of a fragile-sounding woman beginning to sing.  
  
The melody was oddly unpredictable through it's numerous twists and turns, as each minor chord yielded to more minor chords. It was a sad sort of song, a gentle sort.  
  
She cried, knowing that there was no way she could recreate something so beautiful . . .  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Feeling moody and achingly disgruntled around her lower eyelids, Rei managed to get showered, dressed, and into the car in one piece, without speaking a meaningful word to Mai. If the other girl was concerned, she thought it wise not to mention anything.  
  
Rei had rarely been actually ~angry~ before, just diminutively lonely and a bit frightened for reasons she didn't feel comfortable trying to recall. But everything around her seemed to have just been going wrong; first her ex-favorite card and her twisted ideals, then Mai forcing her to be someone she wasn't, and then Mai contracting her into her stupid plots in the eyes of a single good-looking male unit.  
  
Consequently, feeling broody, Rei picked out a reasonable dark outfit for that morning (a lacy black form-fitting top that exposed a sliver of midriff, and black bondage pants with fake suspenders that jingled with every step), before weighting the entire ensemble down with two studded belts hooked together and wrapped twice around her still-narrow waist.  
  
She slammed the corvette's door bitingly, and took to hugging her backpack close as Mai turned on the radio. The speakers pounded from each direction.  
  
It was a relatively short drive to Domino High, but Rei still dislodged herself from the leather seat with as much force as she could muster. A slight miscalculation of her own strength and the weight of her backpack was the only reason she was sent sprawled onto the window of the white car they had parked beside.  
  
Feeling ridiculously like a mindless fly who strayed to close to the freeway, her face burned even though no one seemed to be watching. The hot pounding in her cheeks only made her angrier.  
  
Mai muttered a polite goodbye before abandoning the scene of the moody girl in black.  
  
Rei felt hurt and misunderstood.  
  
The fact that those feelings were completely blasphemous considering her mood did not even begin to register under that normally sharp head of hers. Go figure.  
  
She adjusted her backpack and took a deep breath of the cooled morning air-- which ultimately made her feel dizzy and sickened rather than refreshed. Her stomach churned and growled it's displeasure for no apparent reason, so she clutched it doubtfully and feeling her mouth squinch up into a quizzically annoyed expression.  
  
/Why would my stomach be growling?/ she wondered to herself, shielding her eyes from the slice of sun as she turned toward the school /I just ate breakfast./  
  
Her head bowed, she was instantly reminded and reassured of her decidedly sullen mood by the glance of black lace clad on her collarbone. She suddenly felt very thin as a somber mindset reflected on her face.  
  
Rei didn't notice the car. A gigantic SUV of some undetermined origin and sort loomed up the driveway, shedding a looming quality in comparison to the other stationary vehicles. All were dwarfed.  
  
It was amazingly shiny and obviously impressive; or else simply extremely expensive. Glossy black and smoothly handling the rough road with a disgruntled sort of ease, the vehicle ended up rolling at a much higher speed than suggested in the fore-school rush.  
  
It was simply a flash stung in slow motion out of the corner of her eye, a sneering wink--  
  
--Realizing--  
  
--she stood, paralyzed in the school's shabby student parking-lot--  
  
Luckily, the driver had quick reflexes. Even if she was as pissed as possible behind those dark, tinted windowpanes.  
  
Rei blinked, not yet accustomed to the earliness, she supposed. A little sweat broke out near her hairline at the realization that everything had almost ended right then and there.  
  
/Not that it would have made much of a difference in the whole scheme of things./  
  
Feeling empathetic to the awkwardness of the situation, she wiped her forhead, adjusted the straps to her backpack nervously and strode to the now ominously stopped close-call.  
  
The ebony wheels seemed a great deal more intimidating up close, she gave a frightened sort of leer as she examined them closely.  
  
Suddenly, the door flew open.  
  
"Get your ass out!"  
  
Rei stepped back.  
  
Someone jumped out of the raised door with a flurry of arms, a disoriented landing, and a hidden mischievous twinkle in her eye; amused and glorified in her own opinion.  
  
The girl straightened, spotting Rei, who took a disconcerted step backward at the sight of her large stenciled eyes and delightfully round face. She had a quirky expression, glorified by amusement, yet she still managed to look like a twisted little child who enjoyed killing ants at the playground.  
  
"You're not even going to say you're sorry, huh?" she yelled into the dark, leather interior, shaking her fist.  
  
"Dammit, kid, JUST GET YOUR BLOODY CRAP, AND LEAVE!!!"  
  
This, more annoyed voice (indiffidently the target of the girl's amusement) was menacing and projected quite well through a vibrato that forcefully made Rei's ears ring. The girl shrugged, bouncing back to busy herself with the trunk.  
  
"You're so horrible, Crystal!" the girl cried with mock distress.  
  
"Keep it moving, Erin. I'm late for class!"  
  
"You see how she treats me?" the girl, Erin, finally addressed the quiet interloper to their heated conversation. After Rei blinked a few times in alarm, the girl gave a humorously exaggerated sigh as she waved her arms helplessly.  
  
"Move it!"  
  
The other door slammed, as Rei heard the defined jabs of hard heels on the asphalt, hurriedly reaching over to her side as Rei began to regret coming over to these odd characters.  
  
The woman was young; surely not a probable mother for the other girl, as she seemed to be in her early twenties or so, with that ideal sort of beauty every girl gained around that age. Her defined cheekbones were naturally pale, leading up to dark, stenciled lips that suggested exasperation rather than a mad sense of rage.  
  
On the whole, she looked frail, and unlikely to have generated such angry shouts from her thin face, thin frame. The thinness was further exaggerated by a black corset strapped over a black dress, matching her black hair, matching her black boots, which also matched her black fishnets . . .  
  
She was what one might refer to as 'goth'.  
  
Crystal fiddled idly with her various pendants and chains adorning her pale neck, thoughtfully resting her gaze on Rei with all apologies already accepted as she faced her with genuine regret flashing through her dark eyes.  
  
"Oh dear!" she walked up closer "Are you alright?! I can't ~believe~ I could be so careless . . . "  
  
"It's alright."  
  
"You're sure then?" she hummed "I'd hate to have scarred you for life in this near-death experience."  
  
Getting the idea that Crystal wasn't being entirely serious any longer, Rei surprised herself by snorting out a chuckle.  
  
"Well, I'm not so sure about that, yet."  
  
"Tell me about the psychiatric bills." The dark woman laughed along with her "Honestly! I'm glad you're not a big fuss in this sort of situation."  
  
"There are more important things to worry about." Rei intoned desolately.  
  
Crystal missed any double-edged meaning to that particular statement. Finally tapping her foot five times, she seemed to combust internally, as her heel gave one final expressive kick.  
  
"What the hell is she doing . . . " crossing her arms to fend off the chill, she paced to the sight of the trunk. Rei leaned to the side curiously, finding their antics very interesting and almost ridiculous.  
  
The gothic woman widened her penciled, coal-black eyes and screamed when she saw that her charge was day-dreaming and examining a misplaced daisy branching up with the notice that it was destined to fail in that desolate environment.  
  
Rei wondered why she appeared so thoughtful. A car door slammed.  
  
Erin watched the flower with a most peculiar look on her face; requiem for something unseen. Something familiar to Rei. Loss.  
  
The SUV revved up meaningfully, and began to inch a little away from the two high-school students. Erin shook suddenly out of the spontaneous daze, already moments before she realized what the motor running and the car slipping actually meant.  
  
Muttering obscenities, she stalked in the direction of the frightening tinted windows, waving her arms.  
  
But it didn't stop.  
  
"Crystal! I'm going to KILL YOU!"  
  
But it didn't stop. Rei felt, as she often did, as if it would be much more beneficial if she didn't interfere-not that she could. The prospect of finding the instantaneous home on a giant wheel of an SUV with a violent driver, was not an especially inviting prospect.  
  
And Erin chased the automobile in a futile pursuit, even past the corner where Rei couldn't spot either of them anymore. Though, she did hear screams and various obscenities which inspired impossible images . . .  
  
Which left her puzzled, and wondering just precisely ~what~ had happened.  
  
The bell rang, and she hurried off.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
My amusement for the week was that at school, there is this group of athlete-guys who ask me for help in physics. One of them IMed me the other day, coincidentally checking out my profile as well.  
  
Now, he calls me "Miss giggle" lol! If only he knew!  
  
*laughs continuously*  
  
Anyway, I think the ending was way rushed. I do that a lot, don't I? Must be the anticipation in my normally lazy soul, huh.  
  
Meh! *giggle goes clunk*  
  
giggleplex 


End file.
